USGS Monitoring Efforts and Lessons Learned from the Historic 2009 Georgia Floods

Abstract

Proceedings of the 2011 Georgia Water Resources Conference, April 11, 12, and 13, 2011, Athens, Georgia.In 2009, the State of Georgia endured two historic flood events, causing widespread damage and significant loss of life. The southeastern coastal plain, in particular south-central Georgia including the City of Valdosta, experienced a significant flood from late March to early April that caused more than $60 million in damages and killed two persons. In September, an extreme amount of precipitation caused epic flooding in north Georgia, especially in the Metropolitan Atlanta area. More than$300 million in damages occurred and 10 persons lost their lives during this event in Georgia. Both events rewrote the streamflow record books in their respective regions. This paper will review how the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) real-time streamflow monitoring efforts aided in the warning, response, and documentation for these events, and provide some lessons learned in how flood information was collected and disseminated during and after these historic floods.Sponsored by: Georgia Environmental Protection Division U.S. Geological Survey, Georgia Water Science Center U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia Water Resources Institute The University of Georgia, Water Resources FacultyThis book was published by Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602-2152. The views and statements advanced in this publication are solely those of the authors and do not represent official views or policies of The University of Georgia, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Georgia Water Research Institute as authorized by the Water Research Institutes Authorization Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-307) or the other conference sponsors