Corps: Dam held down flooding
Official claims damage could have been worse
Remember when the fuss over Lake Lanier used to be about water supply?
These days, it is flood control and whether the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers mismanaged the lake in the recent heavy flooding that caused, according to Georgia Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine, some $500 million in damage.
The latest salvo came Monday, when the corps said if not for Buford Dam being able to stem the full force of water flowing downstream, the Atlanta area would have chalked up $124 million more in damages.
“It is important to note that no dam provides full protection from flooding,” said corps spokeswoman Lisa Coghlan. “Even the best flood structure cannot completely eliminate the risk of flooding.”
“Flood risk management is a shared responsibility and partnership among, federal, state, local agencies and landowners,” she added.
At the Chattahoochee River in Norcross, some 18 river miles downstream of Buford Dam, the dam reduced flood levels by “7« feet below that which would have occurred without the dam,” Coghlan said.
At the Chattahoochee River at the Vinings gauge, Buford Dam reduced flood levels by 3.9 feet.
This gauge is just upstream of the Paces Ferry Bridge, 45 river miles downstream of Buford Dam and 2.5 miles upstream of Peachtree Creek, Coghlan said.
The corps has said it curtailed its operations on Sept. 19, allowing only minimal releases of about 670 cubic feet per second, Coghlan said.
Those releases, about 300,000 gallons per minute, were equal to less than an inch at a gauge 30 miles south of the dam in Vinings, according to the corps.
“Releasing from the small unit did not contribute to the localized flooding in the metro Atlanta area,” Coghlan said.
Critics have charged that it didn’t help the situation either — that the corps shouldn’t have released any water during the flood.
“Any amount that was added to what was going down would have raised the river,” Henry Rowe, who lives near Lake Lanier at Hall County’s Harbour Point subdivision, said in an interview last week.
Jackie Joseph, president of Lake Lanier Association, said Monday she has fielded many calls on the matter.
“The feeling is if that water had not gone downstream, (there’s) a good chance … that we probably would not have had as much damage as actually was there,” she said.
“Technically, I’m not sure I understand all of that, but I do know that flood control means you are supposed to, in my view, prevent downstream flooding.”
Kent Frantz, senior service hydrologist with the National Weather Service in Peachtree City, said he believes the criticism toward the corps has been “very unfair.”
The releases “couldn’t have changed the depths of the water by even a tenth of a foot, probably. … I think people are just looking … for somebody to blame, and there is nobody to blame,” he said. “All the heavy rain, predominantly, was downstream from Buford Dam.”
Coghlan has said the flow out of large dams is rarely halted completely due to adverse impacts on river environments.
The small unit generates power for the dam and project offices and “assisted in maintaining viable conditions for essential habitat below the dam,” Coghlan said.
Curtailed releases will continue “until downstream flows have receded,” Coghlan said.
At that point, releases “will resume to meet downstream minimum flow requirements for water quality in the Chattahoochee River at Peachtree Creek in Atlanta and to meet (Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin) requirements,” she said.
Cox Enterprises Donates $175,000 to Aid Metro Atlanta Flood Victims
ATLANTA, Sept. 29 /PRNewswire/ – Cox Enterprises, Inc. announced today a combined cash donation of $175,000 to three non-profit aid agencies to support flood recovery efforts in metro Atlanta. More than 20,000 homes and other structures suffered major damage across 17 Georgia counties, which have now been declared federal disaster areas.
“Cox Enterprises has a legacy of helping our employees in times of great need,” said Jimmy Hayes, president and CEO of Cox Enterprises. “Cox is also committed to helping our community-at-large, so we’re supporting two long-time partners on the front line of this disaster.”
The donation will be shared among the Cox Employee Disaster Relief Fund ($75,000), the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta’s Disaster Relief Fund ($50,000) and the American Red Cross (Metro Atlanta) Disaster Relief Fund ($50,000). Created in 2005, the Cox Employee Disaster Relief Fund aided company employees during Hurricane Katrina and the California wildfires and will now assist Cox’s affected Atlanta-area employees.
In addition to Cox Enterprises’ $175,000 donation, many of its Cox Media Group properties in Atlanta provided vital information during the crisis. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, WSB-TV and WSB-AM, News Talk 750 experienced record-breaking ratings and online usage as each news team covered the event around the clock. They released flood warnings over the air, online, mobile text alerts, in print and on Twitter. The media properties continue to provide updates and share how metro Atlantans can help those impacted in the community.
Basic paper items such as paper towels, toilet paper and diapers are in extreme need. In partnership with the United Way, Cox companies with local office locations including Cox Communications, AutoTrader.com and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution have placed collection containers for these items in their office lobbies and are encouraging employees to donate.
Individuals interested in providing assistance can find information by calling 404-614-1000 (United Way) or 1-800-REDCROSS (American Red Cross).
About Cox Enterprises
Cox Enterprises is a leading communications, media and automotive services company. With revenues exceeding $15 billion and more than 66,000 employees, the company’s major operating subsidiaries include Cox Communications, Inc. (cable television distribution, telephone, high-speed Internet access, commercial telecommunications, advertising solutions and the Travel Channel); Manheim, Inc. (vehicle auctions, repair and certification services and web-based technology products); Cox Media Group, Inc. (television stations, digital media, newspapers, advertising sales rep firms and Cox Radio, Inc.); and AutoTrader.com (online automotive classifieds and related publications). Additionally, Cox’s Internet operations include Kudzu.com and Adify Corporation, a unit of Cox TMI, Inc.
Good Deeds: South Cobb Band Fundraiser for Flood Victims
The South Cobb High School Band Is Raising Money For Metro Atlanta Flood Victims
ATLANTA — The South Cobb High School Band Boosters have decided to turn their fall fundraiser into a benefit concert to help metro Atlanta Flood victims.The concert will be held on Friday October 2, 2009 at the Mable House Barnes Amphitheatre starting at 7p.m.Half of the money raised during the concert will go to a local flood relief fund.The area surrounding the school was one of the hardest hit during the September storms.South Cobb High School had several families whose homes were either lost or badly damaged because of the floods.
FEMA grants coming to uninsured homeowners
7,000 applications filed for help after Atlanta flood
Federal officials say they will soon begin sending money to people in 17 counties who lost homes and businesses to last week’s floods.
In addition, federal officials added another five counties to a list of nine that are eligible to receive grants to repair roads and other damaged infrastructures.
In a third move, state labor officials said workers in eight Georgia counties are eligible for disaster unemployment assistance.
Representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency have promised grants running into the thousands of dollars for uninsured, or underinsured, homeowners.
Mark Neveau, a deputy federal coordinating officer with FEMA, said officials hope to begin inspections of homes soon and added that the process is quick. It takes maybe a day or two for the government to transfer funds electronically after a structure is approved by a damage assessor, he said.
FEMA is stepping in because of the federal disaster designation given to metro Atlanta by President Barack Obama last week.
“The disaster you have experienced is unprecedented,” Neveau said.
Officials had no tally of the number of structures damaged, but said they’d received about 7,000 applications for help.
Buzz Weiss, spokesman for the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, said the number is “a moving target” right now. “We know that there are hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of structures,” he said, adding that it’ll probably take a week to finish the count and that “it’s going to be a tremendous number.”
“We’re going to see high numbers because areas that were hit were in areas that we did not believe to be flood plain,” Weiss said, “and those people understandably did not have flood insurance.”
Officials are urging owners of flood-damaged property to register with FEMA immediately.
Neveau said each applicant can qualify for up to $30,300 in grants, though, he added, the average is much lower, around $5,000. Homeowners may have better luck with the U.S. Small Business Administration, which gives out home loans of as much as $200,000, plus $40,000 to repair or replace personal property. The loans are at about half the commercial lending rate.
Hundreds of federal officials will fan out across metro Atlanta to visit properties of those who have applied for aid. People will also be able to go to local disaster recovery centers to fill out paperwork.
State labor officials said workers in eight Georgia counties can collect disaster unemployment assistance. The program helps workers whose primary income was lost due to flooding. Unlike state unemployment insurance, it provides benefits to entrepreneurs, farmers, loggers and others who don’t typically qualify for help.
Some people were rendered homeless by the storms.
Kathy Fletcher, who helps coordinate volunteers with the Cobb Emergency Management Agency, estimated that more than 2,000 volunteers came out last weekend in Austell and other hard-hit areas. Many churches supplied volunteers throughout the weekend, with the Mormons from North Georgia mustering about 1,000 workers on Sunday alone.
They delivered water, food and cleaning supplies and got to work, tearing out soggy sheetrock and insulation.
“It’s been very refreshing to see how people have stepped up to help friends and strangers,” Fletcher said. “It restores your faith in human nature.”
Some worry that the storm will expose another side of human nature: hopelessness. Connie Stokes, a county commissioner in DeKalb, led a task force that studied how to curb foreclosures stemming from the economic crisis. She fears that the recent destruction will cause some uninsured homeowners to abandon their damaged properties rather than go further into debt to fix them. That would expand the county’s already sizable problem with foreclosures.
“We know that the value of properties throughout DeKalb County has dropped substantially,” Stokes said, adding that some storm victims will ask themselves: “Why would I get a loan and increase what I owe on my house when I already owe more than it’s worth?”
Some people are feeling like victims all over again, as they are forced to leave their homes unsecured, with valuables inside – and out.
Brenda Roberts, who lives in Stone Mill Manor in south DeKalb, said she and her neighbors have had personal property taken after they left things outside their houses to dry.
Roberts is missing some rugs, and her neighbors lost their washing and drying machines, which they’d left in their driveway.
Roberts, who is staying with a friend, happened to drive through her neighborhood when she saw a pickup truck toting her vacuum cleaner and lawn mower. The items were returned when she asked for them, but the rugs are still missing.
“They said, ‘We come through here on trash day to pick up things,’ and I told them, ‘Today isn’t trash day,’” Roberts said. “Now, I’m really nervous about leaving in the evening,” she said. “I’m just afraid that someone’s going to go inside and take what I have left.”
GETTING HELP
» The Federal Emergency Management Agency will give grants of as much as $30,300 to owners of uninsured, or underinsured, houses that were damaged in the floods (though the average grant is more like $5,000). Register your home by calling 1-800-621-3362 or by going online to www.disasterassistance.gov.
» The U.S. Small Business Administration will be giving out home loans of as much as $200,000 to cover repairs, plus $40,000 to repair or replace personal property. The loans are at about half the commercial lending rate. Businesses can get up to $2 million. And an application with the SBA is mandatory to receive some types of FEMA funding. To apply, contact the SBA’s disaster center at 1-800-659-2955 or at www.sba.gov.
» Workers in eight Georgia counties – Cobb, Carroll, Chattooga, Cherokee, Douglas, Paulding, Stephens and Walker – may be eligible for disaster unemployment assistance. The program helps workers whose primary income was lost due to flooding. Unlike state unemployment insurance, it provides benefits to entrepreneurs, farmers, loggers and others who don’t typically qualify for help. Potentially eligible workers should call the Georgia Department of Labor’s toll-free customer service line at 1-877-709-8185 or visit www.dol.state.ga.us. The deadline to apply is Oct. 26, said State Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond.
» In Cobb County, officials set up a one-stop center for help at the old Threadmill Mall at 5000 Austell-Powder Springs Road. GEMA, FEMA, the Red Cross and other agencies are there. It is open from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m.
» In DeKalb County, County Commissioner Lee May will host a special emergency meeting Wednesday night. Representatives from FEMA, GEMA and the Red Cross will provide assistance beginning at 6 p.m. at the Lou Walker Senior Center at 2538 Panola Road in Lithonia. DeKalb hopes to have its own disaster recovery center open by then, as well. For emergency management help in the meantime, call 678-406-7850 or 678-406-7853.
HELPING YOURSELF
» The Georgia Public Service Commission advises homeowners to take steps to protect credit ratings and rights if they’ve lost their home, or source of income, to flooding. Contact utilities and communications providers to explain why service must be discontinued and ask what to do next.
» When hiring a contractor, check with the secretary of state to see if a company has adequate licenses. A law that took effect last year requires that contractors prove they have met minimum professional standards to get a license. Verify residential/general contractor licenses at https://secure.sos.state.ga.us/myverification. Search by contractor name or county. Never pay for all the work until the project is done.
GIVING HELP
» Organizations such as the Metro Atlanta Area Command of Salvation Army and Red Cross are asking for money. Food banks, such as Hosea Feed the Hungry and Homeless and the Atlanta Community Food Bank, are calling for non-perishable items. The United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta has an easy number – 2-1-1 – for people who want to donate their money or time.
» In Cobb County, Cobb Disaster Recovery, a volunteer conglomerate of faith-based organizations, nonprofits, businesses, local government and civic groups, needs volunteers for cleanup efforts. The UPS Store at 50 Barrett Parkway, Suite 3005, near I-75 is also collecting school supplies and dried or canned food.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
Start of original post:
Georgians Grappling With Flood Damage
AUSTELL, Ga. — As floodwaters in the Atlanta area receded, residents grappled on Wednesday with the damage that has left them homeless, uprooted their lives and shut down bridges and major roadways.
Thundershowers are forecast for Thursday, Friday and Saturday, but most officials believe that the worst is over.
The death toll in Georgia rose to nine people when another body was found Tuesday evening in hardest-hit Douglas County. Richard Butler, 29, was swept from his car and died, like the other five victims from the county, as a result of flash flooding, said Wes Tallon, the spokesman for the county’s emergency management agency.
The county, about 23 miles west of the city, was hit by 21 inches of rain from Sunday to Monday, knocking out the drinking water supply to thousands of residents and forcing others to boil their water. On Wednesday, the authorities dispensed bottled water, checked abandoned cars for bodies and swept debris from mud-caked streets. Churches and local radio stations collected food and clothes. And volunteers canoed to soggy homes in search of waterlogged belongings.
Still, many residents said they felt deserted.
“It’s been everyone for themself,” said Aldin Linton, 38, an engineer who came here to Austell, in neighboring Cobb County, to rescue a friend’s trailer and got stranded. “Where’s the city? There are guys directing traffic, but I’ve only seen one street cleaner.”
On Wednesday, Austell’s swollen Sweetwater Creek continued to flood into the trailer park owned by Dale Lawrence’s family. A red Pontiac, dragged by the tide, rested against a filthy office building. An unmoored barn floated by a submerged tree.
Mr. Lawrence said the family was slowly recovering. “We’re in a flood plain, so we can’t get flood insurance,” he said. “We’re cleaning everything ourselves.”
In nearby Douglasville, Joe Reynolds, 31, returned to his organic vegetable farm to find two-thirds of the land submerged. His chickens were dry, but the lettuce, beets and cabbage from his fall harvest were deep under mucky brown water. Mr. Reynolds said the flood could have a crippling toll on his small-scale farm.
“If our irrigation system is totally destroyed, we could be looking at $8,000 to repair it,” he said. “For us, that’s a tremendous amount of money. I didn’t think I’d go back to waiting tables part time so quickly. But it’s an option.”
I-20, a main interstate leading to Atlanta, reopened after 11 a.m. on Wednesday, while only two bridges spanning the flooded Chattahoochee River remained closed, helping the county slowly return to its operations.
Emergency management officials have toured the state by helicopter and expect to issue a preliminary damage assessment in the coming days, said Lisa Janak, a spokeswoman for the Georgia Emergency Management Agency. The state insurance commissioner estimated the cost of the damage at $250 million.
Gov. Sonny Perdue has declared a state of emergency in 17 counties and pleaded for federal aid to President Obama, who promised to give the request prompt attention.
In Washington, the House passed a resolution recognizing the flood victims and pledging national solidarity.
The Home Depot Foundation Donates $100,000 in Atlanta Flood Clean Up and Rebuilding Effort
ATLANTA, Sept. 23 /PRNewswire/ — The Home Depot Foundation and associates from The Home Depot(R) are joining in the relief efforts in the aftermath of the floods that have caused significant damage throughout the Metro Atlanta area this week. The Home Depot Foundation has committed $100,000 in donations, with $50,000 going to the American Red Cross for immediate emergency disaster assistance and another $50,000 to go to the longer term rebuilding process.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090923/CL80946LOGO )
“Many neighborhoods were deeply affected by severe flooding this week, and we want to contribute to their immediate needs through the American Red Cross,” said Kelly Caffarelli, president of The Home Depot Foundation. “But we also know that repairing the damage will be a long process for homeowners, business and communities. That’s why we will also support the longer-term efforts by investing in organizations that will rebuild these homes and communities in a healthy, sustainable way.”
Several local Home Depot stores have already been involved in emergency relief efforts through product donations to local cities. These donations have included tarps, wet patch roof cement, bottled water and buckets.
“We have almost 20,000 associates who live and work throughout the Atlanta area, so this is a very personal effort for all of us,” said Caffarelli. “Store associates are already planning Team Depot volunteer events to help their communities clean up and get back on their feet. We are ready to roll up our sleeves to help our associates, neighbors and customers.”
“People helping people are at the heart of our humanitarian mission,” said Timothy M. English, regional CEO for the American Red Cross in North Georgia. “When good neighbors partner with the Red Cross to make disaster relief possible, it not only helps the families who are affected, it strengthens entire communities.”
About The Home Depot Foundation
The Home Depot Foundation was created in 2002 to further the community building goals of The Home Depot. The Home Depot Foundation is dedicated to building affordable homes for working families that are healthy to live in and affordable to own. Through the incorporation of responsible design, homes built with durable and quality materials are more energy and water efficient, have good indoor air quality, and are overall a safe and healthy space to live. Since its formation, The Home Depot Foundation has granted $120 million to nonprofit organizations and supported the development of more than 65,000 affordable, healthy homes. For more
information, visit www.homedepotfoundation.org.
Six Flags is under water, following heavy rain over last several days which trapped several people in their homes and killed many.
Days of torrential rain in the Southeast claimed at least eight lives, including a toddler and a 15-year-old boy whose corpse was found in the Chattooga River.
The toddler was swept away from his family when a swollen creek ripped apart their trailer home in west Georgia on Monday. Many others killed were drivers whose vehicles were pushed off roads by rapidly rising waters.
ABCNews reports that Six Flags in under water, in some places portions of the roller coaster tracks have disappeared under muddy water.
New reports are emerging every minute. It is amazing how the massive roller coaster is almost submerged in places.
It may be several months or even year before the roller coaster can be restored after water clears.
Note: Six Flags in Georgia is located in 7561 Six Flags Pkwy in Austell, Georgia.
Just months before the region suffered from a massive two year drought. Is it is beginning of the massive climate changes that environmentalists talk about?
Read more on Atlanta’s flood news here.
Pics: Six Flags under water in lethal Georgia floods
Something about distressed amusement parks visually arrests Americans unlike other images of areas in crisis.
Like Six Flags in Louisiana during and after Hurricane Katrina, Georgia’s Six Flags is submerged under murky brown floods, parts of the rollercoaster disappearing under the opaque brown waters. Storms “stretching from Tennessee to Georgia to North Carolina” have flooded the area, killing at least six residents and trapping many others in their homes. A two year old boy was swept from his father’s arms in the flooding, later found dead downstream.
A breached levee in Trion, GA caused the evacuation of over 1,500 people, and several areas are without power. Also, the flood waters are cold, causing hypothermia in many victims. Schools across the waterlogged state remain closed and no relief is in sight until the end of the week. Meteorologists blame the flooding on a phenomenon known as “training,” when an area is repeatedly battered by high-yield thunderstorms.
The Atlanta flooding is now deadly. Two people have been killed in near Atlanta, as northern Georgia has been hit hard with torrential rain for the last three days.
The two fatalities occurred when two separate people attempted to drive through flooded streets. Their cars were then swept away and off of the street in Douglas County and in Gwinnett County, respectively. Dena Brummer, a spokesperson for the Georgia Emergency Management Agency told CNN.
The vehicle in Douglas County was carrying a man, while the vehicle in Gwinnett County was carrying a woman. The identities of the deceased are currently unknown. There are also people missing that may have been carried away in the racing currents of the floodwater, according to Brummer.
Over 20 inches of rain have fallen in the Atlanta metro area, and forecasters have issued flood alerts for several states in the southeast including Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and North Carolina.
Hundreds of roads have been closed because they are flooded and washed out. Several bridges have been over taken with water and creeks that normally have no water in them are overflowing their banks.
Students around Georgia have been affected by the large amounts of rain in such a short period of time, especially in Gwinnett County and Cobb County.
Gwinnett College canceled all classes as a precaution for students.
Clarkdale Elementary students were recently evacuated to the nearby school, Garret Middle School, according to NBC affiliate 11Alive of Atlanta, Georgia.
Kennesaw State University in Cobb County also canceled classes through the day and evening Monday. Initially, KSU told students that “despite heavy rains and flooding, Kennesaw State University is open and classes are in session,” but a brief statement on the school’s Web site shows that the school has indeed closed.
Schools have also been closed in Paulding, Carroll and Douglas Counties.
The Georgia Emergency Management Agency is urging residents to beware of floods by taking precautions when encountering flooded roads, knowing your area’s flood risk and being ready to evacuate.
According to GEMA, this can be done by staying turned to local radio stations and TV stations for updates on the flood conditions. Residents should be prepared for evacuation in case it is needed.
Our Take
Residents of Georgia and surrounding areas that are experiencing rain should listen to authorities and get a safety immediately. It sounds and looks like this is a very serious storm and this could be the worst day of it. Be safe and stay at home unless instructed to do otherwise. For helpful tips and instructions to prepare for the flood, go to GEMA’s official Web site.
Metro Atlanta under flood watch; Red Cross helps 44 flood victims
North and Central Georgia, including Metro Atlanta, are under a flood watch until Monday evening, forecasters said Sunday.
Storms and showers that dumped several inches of rain Saturday will continue Sunday and Monday, meteorologist Jessica Fieux of the National Weather Service said. The rainfall is expected to lessen by Wednesday when the chance of rain drops to 30 percent. It’s currently at 90 percent for Sunday, she said.
Atlanta area Red Cross volunteers came to the aid of 44 people whose homes were flooded from heavy rains during the weekend and are preparing to assist more if storms are severe.
“We didn’t expect all of this rain, all at one time,” said Ruben Brown, Red Cross spokesman.
Those whose homes were flooded were provided hotel rooms for the night, Brown said.
More than five inches of water poured down in some areas of the metro area Saturday, flooding homes and floating cars in at least one neighborhood. As of Sunday afternoon, 1,800 people across the metro area were without power, said Georgia Power spokesman John Kraft.
The National Weather Service said between daybreak and 8 p.m. Saturday, Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport recorded 3.7 inches of rain.
That’s nowhere near the record-amount of rain for Atlanta, according to meteorologist Matt Sena with the National Weather Service.
“7.36 inches fell in 1886,” Sena said Saturday.
But Saturday’s rains were enough to flood the homes of 17 people at a Cleveland Avenue apartment complex. Two other Fulton County complexes had significant flood damage, Brown said, and residents needed shelter assistance.
At a new rain measuring station in East Point, 5.04 inches fell between midnight and 1 p.m. Saturday.
That location is near the South River, which, along with Intrenchmet Creek and Camp Creek, sent water spilling into two houses on Macon Drive in southeast Atlanta.
Lawrence Washington, who has owned a house in the 2200 block of Macon Drive for 16 years, said he had “never seen anything like this.”
He said a wall of water rushed inside the brick home, filling the first floor halfway up the door frames and floating furniture. Washington said the detached garage of his home was lifted off its foundation.
The water apparently flushed a neighbor’s car down the creek, he said. It has not been seen since.
The South River also spilled into Atlanta’s water treatment plant on Browns Mill road and workers brought in pumps to get it out. Spokeswoman Janet Ward said the plant was not shut down, however.
Nearby, at Allstate Waste Inc. on Jonesboro Road, the sanitation company’s heavy machinery, including backhoes, was under water. And the parking lot at Lakewood Amphitheater was underwater.
Meteorologist Kent McMullen said the downpour’s not over, but the heavy rain moving into Georgia from Alabama may hit somewhere else in the state.
There has been rain every day since Tuesday. The Weather Service recorded .04 inches Tuesday, 0.76 inches Wednesday, 0.53 inches Thursday and just a trace amount Friday.
“There’s a who lot of rain out there to drain off,” Sena said.
As a result of the sometimes heavy and almost constant rain, a few trees fell and power was knocked out temporarily in some neighborhoods.
A large tree fell on the home of Atlanta City Councilman Caesar Mitchell in southwest Atlanta, but damage appeared to be minor. Mitchell was not at home during the incident.
Forecasters say it could be several days before the area dries up.
“I don’t think anyone ever misses a drought, although I’m sure a lot of people across central and eastern Georgia would like to miss the rain for a day of two,” Sena said.
Anyone who would like to assist flood victims is asked to contact the Red Cross at 404-876-3706 or go online to atlantaredcross.org.
— Johnny Crawford and Rhonda Cook contributed to this report.
Lake Lanier Water Level
Lake Lanier Water Level-Massive amounts of rain from Sunday and overnight are causing serious flooding across several counties in northern Georgia, causing at least two fatalities.
The Army Corps of Engineers is monitoring water levels at Lake Lanier, which has risen four inches since Saturday. However, the direct risk of flooding from the lake seems minimal, because due to recent water shortages the Lake Lanier water level is still several feel below full pool.
An as-yet-unidentified woman was killed Monday morning when her car (which she was driving) was swept off the road and under water as she attempted to navigate a washed out section of the Lawrenceville Highway in Gwinnett County.
In Douglas County, a man’s body was found downstream from where his vehicle was swept into a flooded river.
Many schools and businesses are closed today in the Atlanta metro area, including in Gwinnett, Douglas, Carroll and Paulding counties.
Updated 9/22/2009:
Death toll rises to 8 in Southeast floods
ATLANTA — The death toll in Southeast flooding has reached eight after rescuers found the body a 15-year-old boy in northwest Georgia after days of heavy rain turned docile creeks into surging rivers and rivers.
The teen’s body was found in the Chattooga River on Tuesday morning.
The Georgia Emergency Management Agency also reported a new death in Douglas County west of Atlanta, bringing the toll in that county to four people. No more details were immediately available.
Other victims have included a 2-year-old boy who was swept away from his family when a creek ripped open their west Georgia mobile home Monday.
Aerial shots showed schools, parking lots and even entire neighborhoods submerged by the deluge, sending some unlucky residents scurrying for higher ground.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.
ATLANTA (AP) — Washed-out roads and flooded interstate highways around Atlanta added to the misery Tuesday after days of torrential rain in the Southeast that claimed at least six lives and left several people missing in Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee.
The victims included a toddler swept away from his family when a swollen creek ripped apart their trailer home in west Georgia on Monday. Many others were drivers whose vehicles were pushed off roads by rapidly rising waters. One man in Chattanooga, Tenn., was missing two days after betting onlookers he could swim across a flooded ditch next to his house.
Authorities urged people who don’t need to drive to stay home, a day after Gov. Sonny Purdue declared a state of emergency in 17 counties.
“It’s going to be a long morning. We’re asking people to be patient,” DOT spokeswoman Crystal Paulk-Buchanan said.
The good news was that the rain was tapering off in many areas. The National Weather Service said there was more rain to come, but the likelihood and severity will decline in the coming days.
Days of downpours and thunderstorms saturated the ground from Alabama through Georgia into eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina, just months after an epic two-year drought in the region ended after winter rains.
As Tuesday rush-hour began in the Atlanta area, Interstate 20 west of the city was closed in two spots by water spilling over the major artery for commuter traffic from the sprawling western suburbs. Portions of at least two other interstates in the metro area were also closed, as was I-75 in Houston County in central Georgia.
Hundreds of roads and bridges were under water or washed out in the Atlanta area and other parts of the state, including 17 bridges on state and interstate highways.
As much as a foot of rain fell over parts of the Atlanta area Monday. The town of Dallas northwest of Atlanta had 16 inches in a 48-hour period, the Georgia Emergency Management Agency said.
Aerial shots showed schools, football fields, used car lots and even entire neighborhoods submerged by the deluge, sending some unlucky residents scurrying for higher ground.
“It’s a mess all over,” said Lisa Janak of the Georgia Emergency Management Agency.
As the storm front rumbled through west Georgia, it turned a normally sleepy creek into a surging headwater that tore apart 2-year-old Preston Slade Crawford’s mobile home around 2 a.m. Monday. The body of the drowned boy nicknamed “Scooter” wasn’t found until hours later. His parents had been rescued from the raging waters as another son, Cooper, age 1, clung to his mother’s arms in Carroll County, west of Atlanta.
Pat Crawford, the boy’s grandmother, watched helplessly as the family’s mobile home was whisked away.
“Y’all gotta help us! Y’all gotta save us!” Crawford remembers Bridgett Lawrence and Craig Crawford shouting above the roaring water. She said she was on higher ground, but couldn’t get to them because the current was so bad.
At least two people were missing, including a Tennessee man who went swimming in an overflowing ditch and a 15-year-old Georgia teen who never returned from a swim in the surging Chattooga River. About 12,000 Georgia Power customers were without power late Monday.
Crews in the tiny Georgia town of Trion worked to shore up a levee breached by the Chattooga River and in danger of failing. The town evacuated more than 1,500 residents, and Red Cross workers set up an emergency shelter.
Emergency officials were often forced to improvise to rescue dozens of people stranded in their homes and cars.
“We’re using everything we can get our hands on,” Douglas County spokesman Wes Tallon said. “Everything from boats to Jet Skis to ropes to ladders.”
Other southeastern states were hit less severely.
In Kentucky, rescue crews went on more than a dozen runs to help stranded people after 4 inches of rain fell on parts of Louisville on Sunday, said city fire department spokesman Sgt. Salvador Melendez.
Water rose as high as window-level on some houses in North Carolina’s Polk County, forcing emergency officials to evacuate homes along a seven-mile stretch of road. Flooding in more than 20 counties in western North Carolina closed roads, delayed school and forced evacuations.
Updates up to 09/29/2009
Officials: We Believe Woman’s Body Has Been Found
Woman Identified As Debra Ann Hooper
POSTED: 6:52 am EDT September 28, 2009UPDATED: 4:16 pm EDT September 28, 2009ATLANTA — Douglas County Sheriff’s Department officials told CBS Atlanta Monday afternoon that it appears they have found the body of a missing Cherokee County woman.A body was found below the Dog River Dam, according to Douglas County chief Stan Copeland. An autopsy will have to be performed on the body to confirm that it is Debra Ann Hooper.Hooper’s Jeep Liberty was found submerged in the Dog River Friday, where Mobley Creek and Dog River meet. It’s believed Hooper was swept away by last week’s massive flooding that ravaged metro Atlanta.Officials said Hooper’s family and Carroll County officials were notified of the body’s discovery.”It’s sad. It’s always sad when you lose someone you knew,” said neighbor Penny Kwirant.Rescuers had been searching an area south of the Dog River bridge on Highway 5.A spokesman for the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said the area where Hooper disappeared is clogged with debris 40 feet deep and 35 feet wide in some places.”It does make me sad, because we didn’t have a chance to get to know each other better,” Kwirant said. “The part that makes me have peace is that I truly believe she is with Jesus, our Savior in heaven.”
Search for mom missing after Georgia flooding continues
- Story Highlights
- Debbie Hooper, 44, of Whitesburg, Georgia went missing September 20
- Authorities found her Jeep Liberty in Dog River in Douglas County, west of Atlanta
- On Monday, authorities found a female body, but body is not yet identified
- This month’s rainfall has caused deadly flooding in the Southeast
ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) — Punctuality was one of Debbie Hooper’s best traits.
The 44-year-old grandmother from Whitesburg, Georgia, was always on time for her play dates with her baby granddaughter. She was always on time picking up her 15-year-old son from school.
So when Hooper, who juggled two jobs to support her family, didn’t appear at her dispatch job for a transportation company last Monday morning, her daughter Jessica Bartke, 19, knew something was wrong.
Her mother’s cell phone went straight to voicemail. Co-workers hadn’t seen the bubbly, kindhearted woman with curly brown hair and a magnetic presence.
“She’s always at work,” said Bartke, who lives in Winston, Georgia, about 10 minutes from her mother’s home. “She was never lazy. I knew something had to be wrong.”
Nearly a week after the torrential downpours that left the metro Atlanta area drenched, authorities are still searching for Hooper’s body, which was last believed to have been in the Dog River in Douglas County, west of Atlanta. Late Monday afternoon, authorities discovered a female body in the Dog River Reservoir, said Brad Robinson, chief deputy of the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office. They are waiting for lab work to identify the body, which is expected to be released Tuesday afternoon.
Six flood-related deaths already have been reported in Douglas County.
Bartke believes her mother went missing Sunday, September 20, the eve of her 44th birthday.
Last Friday, when the water ebbed, a search crew of nearly 25 law enforcement officers from Carroll and Douglas counties uncovered Hooper’s vehicle, a Jeep Liberty, stuck in the water in the Dog River. The team also recovered Hooper’s purse.
“It was like putting an ant in front of the fire hose,” said Sheriff Phil Miller of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. “The little Jeep Liberty looked like it had been put in a crusher and beat into pieces.”
The following Saturday morning, more than two dozen authorities and four cadaver dogs continued to search the Dog River area. Miller said the water flow had been constant, which means the body could have drifted into the Chattahoochee River.
Hooper remains the last missing flood victim in the Atlanta area, but in Tennessee, a man who disappeared after swimming in an overflowing ditch on a dare is still missing.
This month’s storm has been one of the worst in Southeastern U.S. history. The death toll in Georgia and Alabama has risen to 10.
Gov. Sonny Perdue has declared a state of emergency in 17 flood-stricken counties, and State Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine estimated that the flooding has caused $250 million in losses.
Bartke, Hooper’s daughter, has taken her 15-year-old brother into her home. She says they are both distressed about not knowing where their mother may be.
“We talked every day,” Bartke said. “We spoke to each other even if we were busy, even if it was for two seconds just to say ‘Mom, I love you. I’m busy right now, but I will call you back.’ “
10th flood casualty found; Douglas sheriff sure it’s missing Carroll County woman
Authorities believe they’ve found the body of the missing Carroll County woman apparently washed from the road in her vehicle during flooding last week.
Douglas County Sheriff Phil Miller said a female body was found Monday afternoon downstream from where deputies discovered the mangled Jeep Liberty belonging to Debra Hooper.
“We believe it’s her,” Miller said. “We don’t know of anybody else that is missing. It is consistent with the time she went missing.”
But Miller said it was still too soon to say definitively that the body is in fact Hooper.
“We have to do an autopsy and compare with dental records,” he said, adding that finding a positive identification could take several days.
Even if the body should not be Hooper, it would be the seventh death from last week’s flooding in Douglas County, and the 10th statewide.
Although a formal search for Hooper was suspended Monday, a Douglas sheriff’s Lieutenant, a county jail trustee and members of an inmate work crew continued to look for her, Miller said.
They found the body Monday around 3 p.m., about three miles from where her Jeep was discovered last Wednesday, authorities said.
Hooper left the Villa Rica home of a friend around 9:30 p.m. on the Sunday night that heavy rains began flooding roads in Carroll County and throughout Georgia.
It was her birthday, and the last time she was seen.
“It was rare that I didn’t even talk to her on her birthday,” said Hooper’s daughter Jessica Bartke, 19, of Winston. “I thought maybe she was busy and she didn’t have time to charge her phone.”
The search that began for her Thursday was temporarily suspended on Monday, more than a week after Hooper’s Jeep Liberty was apparently swept into flood waters in neighboring Douglas County, authorities said.
Hooper’s Jeep was discovered from a helicopter Wednesday at the confluence of Mobley Creek and the Dog River, Miller said.
“The water was so high, we couldn’t get the tag number,” Miller said.
Bartke reported Hooper missing to Carroll County sheriff’s deputies on Thursday.
Bartke said her mother had lived in Carroll County for about 10 years and was familiar with area roads.
Hooper worked two jobs, one as a dispatcher for a transportation company and the other providing in-home care to the elderly, ailing or disabled.
Carroll and Douglas county sheriffs deputies began searching Friday and were able to link the SUV to her. They found her purse Saturday morning before having to suspend search effort for more rain.
“The Jeep is extremely damaged,” Miller said. “There are a lot of large rocks in the Dog River, and it appeared that it tumbled quite a bit.”
Searchers used cell phone tower triangulation to pinpoint the area where Hooper might be, Miller said.
Vice President Biden Tours Georgia Flooding
While President Obama tended to foreign policy at the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh, Vice President Biden toured flood-damaged Marietta, Georgia and met with displaced residents at a Red Cross shelter. The trip comes a day after the president declared a major disaster in the state and ordered federal aid to fund recovery efforts.
Mr. Biden announced today that three more counties have qualified for government assistance, which can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, loans to cover property loss, and help for small business owners.
In his brief remarks outside the Cobb County Civic Center the vice president called it “destabilizing” for people to lose a home. “This is more than a physical loss, it’s tough stuff psychological loss. This is tough stuff… for someone who has lost their home it IS Katrina,” he said.
Republican Senators Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson praised the Obama administration for its quick response and thanked the vice president for taking the time to talk to families who have been affected.
Nine people have died as a result of the floods, and damage is estimated to be $250 million.
Red Cross To Open Gwinnett Flood Shelter
Shelter To Open At Zoar United Methodist Church
ATLANTA — The American Red Cross will open another shelter in Georgia to meet the needs of residents living in Gwinnett County.Red Cross disaster assessment reports indicated early Monday morning that a shelter in Gwinnett would be necessary.The Red Cross initially opened seven shelters when flooding in the Southeast began, including one in Gwinnett County, which closed on Wednesday of last week. As of this weekend, two shelters remained open to provide food, mental health counseling and emotional support for residents throughout the affected areas.”We are constantly looking at the needs of the community,” said Fran O’Shaughnessy, director of operations for the Red Cross response to the Georgia flooding. “Sheltering is a fluid thing during disasters because we adapt as the needs of our clients change.”The shelters currently open in Georgia are:
Cobb County
Cobb County Civic Center
548 South Marietta Parkway
Marietta, GA 30060Gwinnett County*
Zoar United Methodist Church
3895 Zoar Church Road
Snellville, GA 30039
*shelter opens at 4 p.m. Monday, Sept. 28Cherokee County
Cherokee Recreation and Parks Agency
(South Annex)
7545 Main St. Building 200
Woodstock, GA 30188To date, the American Red Cross has provided 1,643 overnight stays for nearly 500 residents in Georgia Red Cross shelters.The Red Cross Disaster Call Center has fielded questions and requests for help from more than 2,800 people in our community. Those who have been affected by the flooding who need help can call 404-870-4440.Thirteen Red Cross disaster assessment teams have been moving through affected areas. Preliminary reports indicate that 1,939 homes in Georgia have been affected; 459 of which are destroyed, 517 with major damage.Through mobile outreach into flood-affected areas, Red Cross caseworkers are connecting one-on-one with people in need and providing financial assistance for food, clothing, shelter and health-related concerns. Along with providing emotional support, caseworkers can direct clients to recovery resources in the community, including Red Cross Distribution Centers for clean-up supplies (mops, brooms, pails, etc.) and personal hygiene items.The Red Cross is working with emergency partners in hard-hit communities to establish Distribution Centers for clean-up items and bottled water, which will be replenished throughout the day. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday at the following locations:
Lawrenceville Fire Dept. Station 20
1801 Curse Road
Lawrenceville, GA 30044Best Buy – Douglasville
6875 Douglas Blvd.
Douglasville, GA 30135Powder Springs Police Department
4483 Pineview Drive
Powder Springs, GA 30127Austell Shopping Center
5875 Love St.
Austell, GA 30168
This is quite some rain. I believe the death toll has risen to five here in Georgia. I didn’t even realize how serious is was until I started driving to work, only to find out after 10 minutes of driving that the police had closed the road due to the flood. I also didn’t have power for most of my morning yesterday.
Virginia,
We’re very sorry to hear that you have been without power, and that the rain has yet to let up around you. I have updated the story with the latest news from the AP, and thank you for bringing this to our attention. Our prayers go out to you and everyone currently affected by the flooding.
- C.K.
I am living in Cobb County and I can honestly say that I have never seen anything like this. The roads look like rivers and neighborhoods like oceans. This flood has affected everyone and my prayers go to those who lost a home or a loved one.