Five days of rain helps, but doesn't cure coastal drought

SAVANNAH - Georgia&#39;s coast saw five straight days of rain -- a nice soaking, but not nearly enough for a region entering its fourth year of drought. <br> <br> Assistant State climatologist Pam Knox says Savannah and other coastal cities have received between five and ten nches of rain since Thursday, but most of that hasn&#39;t soaked in. <br> <br> The region already has a serious deficit. Between May 1998 and December 2001, the Savannah area was 41.2 inches below normal rainfall. <br> <br> The rain has helped at least one short-term problem: Last week, a broken sewer pipe poured about 292,000 gallons of raw sewage into the Wilmington River, and health officials expect the rain to help flush the river of the spill. <br> <br> The rain also has slowed a fire in the southern portion of the Okefenokee Swamp. Some areas received up to three inches of rain, but two-thirds of the swamp remains dry.