Search and Rescue Operations in Georgia During Major Floods » Overview

During a three-week span in July 1994, the state of Georgia sustained its worst damage ever as the result of flooding. In addition to billions of dollars of property loss, more than 50 lives were lost, and thousands of homeowners were displaced for several weeks. Municipal services in several communities were severely disrupted, as riverscut communities into several pieces and water supplies were contaminated. The flood was the direct result of the stalled Hurricane Alberto, which was later downgraded to a tropical storm. The storm stalled on-shore for more than a week, with its low center hanging over the middle of the state, between Albany and Macon.

Flood disasters have occurred with increasing frequency throughout the United States in the last decade of the 20th century, mostly due to man’s growing encroachment on the natural flood plains of North American rivers. The floods along the, length of the Mississippi in 1993, and the flooding in California in 1992 and 1994-l995 can be directly attributed to the failure of such narrowing and dam-building efforts.

In Georgia the drainages affected had no major dams. The primary cause of the flooding was a tropical low pressure area that stalled over central Georgia. In the course of a seven-day period more than 40 inches of rain fell. In some areas the last 24 inches fell in 24 hours.

The primary drainages affected were along the Ocmulgee and Flint Rivers in central Georgia, though localized flooding caused profound problems elsewhere as well. While local authorities noted the steady heavy rains, there was little local warning of flooding, which increased in severity and occurrence generally from north to south. Due to this increase in the volume of water which moved south along the river drainages, search and rescue operations needed to be substantially increased.

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