Tropical Storm in Georgia, June 11 to 13, 2001

The remnants of Tropical Storm Allison, which originated in the Gulf of Mexico near the Texas coast during the first few days of June, brought heavy rain and flooding to many counties in central and east central Georgia from the afternoon of the 11'th through the afternoon of the 13'th. After meandering over southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana for several days and causing major flooding and loss of life in Texas and Louisiana, the Tropical Depression then moved along the Gulf Coast of Mississippi and Alabama and into South Georgia on the 11'th. By now, downgraded to just a low pressure area, the remnants then took a turn more to the northeast passing near Macon on the 12'th and near Augusta on the 13'th. While wind was not a problem with this storm, very heavy rain had been a problem from the beginning. Spiral bands of heavy rain and some thunderstorms began affecting east central and middle Georgia during the afternoon of the 11'th, with additional development of heavy rain on the 12'th and 13'th, especially in eastern areas. The heaviest rain fell from the evening of the 12'th through the early morning hours of the 13'th in an area generally bounded by Athens, Eatonton, Milledgeville, Crawfordville, and Lexington. In these areas, 24 rainfall amounts of 5 to 8 inches were common, with 10 inches observed in 24 hours on the Little River five miles southeast of Washington in Wilkes county. Two to three day rainfall totals exceeded 10 inches in several places in this area. The Little River crested at 28.4 feet, exceeding the previous highest stage ever recorded of 26.4 feet. Flooding was also observed on the Oconee River at Milledgeville with a crest of 33.7, two feet above flood stage. Several counties were significantly impacted by the flooding rainfall with many roads and bridges being washed out. Greene county was one of the hardest hit where a bridge was washed out leaving 25 residents of the Lake Oconee Point Royal neighborhood stranded. These residents had to be ferried by Sheriff patrol boat to their homes. Over 20 roads were under water in Greene county alone. Putnam, Baldwin, and Taliaferro counties were also hard hit with numerous secondary roads and even some state highways flooded. Several secondary roads had to be closed, a few of which were even washed out. In Pulaski county, a road in the southwest part of the county was washed out leaving a 10 foot canyon where the road used to be. In Milledgeville, an Animal Hospital had to be evacuated when a nearby creek rising out of its banks threatened to flood the facility. Several rivers, reached or exceeded flood stage, and several flood gates had to be opened at the Lake Sinclair and Lake Oconee dams. There were even some reports of downed trees and power lines in a few places, but this was because of saturated soils, not because of high wind. Governor Roy Barnes declared a "state of emergency" for several counties in the state, including Baldwin, Greene, Peach, Pulaski, Putnam, Taliaferro, and Wilkes. Damage estimates are provided under individual flash flood and urban small stream entries.