Governor declares disaster areas after flooding in SW Georgia

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Posted 10:21AM on Monday, September 16, 2002

ATLANTA - Tropical Storm Hanna swept across the state this weekend, creating serious flooding and displacing hundreds of families in southwest Georgia. The National Weather Service reported 14.59 inches of rain fell on Donalsonville in Seminole County in extreme southwest Georgia during a 24-hour period, most falling early Sunday. About 300 families and 30 businesses were displaced by floodwaters in Seminole County, according to the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, but there were no reports of deaths or serious injuries. Gov. Roy Barnes flew to southwest Georgia on Sunday to inspect the damage and declared Seminole, Decatur and Miller counties disaster areas. Michael Smith, assistant fire chief in Donalsonville, said the water rose so fast that firefighters went house to house to wake people up and move them to shelters. "A lot of them just couldn't believe it," Smith said. "Water has been over most of the major streets, chest high in some cases." In comparison, most locations in the Atlanta area received only about a half-inch of rain. Nacoochee in northeast Georgia recorded 3.98 inches, Commerce 2.5 inches and Helen 2.4 inches. About 48,000 customers in metro Atlanta lost power at the height of the storm Saturday and Sunday, said Georgia Power spokeswoman Carol Boatwright, but power was restored by Sunday afternoon to all but a few customers. Hanna was downgraded to a tropical depression Sunday as the storm moved into South Carolina. The badly needed rain that Hanna brought to Georgia should slack off this week. "There's a chance of showers each day, but not a real good chance," said Jim Noffsinger, a National Weather Service meteorologist. Hanna blew ashore Saturday in eastern Alabama with about 50 mph winds, dropping up to 5 inches of rain in the coastal area and the Florida Panhandle. It was the eighth tropical storm of the 2002 Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1 and ends Nov. 30. Gustav, the season's only hurricane, did little damage when it grazed North Carolina's coast last week.