Gordon County Local State of Emergency
Update on Thursday December 31, 2015 at 12:52 p.m.
Gordon County Emergency Management is conducting a damage assessment from the recent flood. If your house or business (no barns, utility buildings, or etc…) has been damaged due to the flood, please contact Richard Cooper at rcooper@gordoncounty.org or by phone at 706-879-3081
Updated on Tuesday, December 29, 2015 at 9:00 a.m.
In response to recent, widespread flooding in Calhoun and Gordon County, Calhoun and Gordon County officials continue to operate a Unified Command System to coordinate public safety activities. Officials from first responder agencies have been on duty throughout the night monitoring the evolving weather situation.
The local ‘State of Emergency’ remains in effect. The ‘State of Emergency’ allows for enhanced response from local agencies, and provides for the rapid (re)allocation of resources in emergency circumstances. Law enforcement and fire/rescue agencies have deployed extra personnel throughout the community to patrol affected areas and perform rescue operations as needed. 25 people were evacuated from 5 separate locations by emergency personnel last night. A temporary shelter has been maintained at the Sonoraville Recreation Center, but so far all displaced persons have found lodging with family and friends.
This morning’s sunshine is deceptive, in that a new weather front is expected to impact Calhoun and Gordon County late this evening through the night into Wednesday morning (December 30). This system is capable of dumping an additional 2-3 inches of rain which will affect already swollen rivers. Although the water level in the local rivers fell several feet throughout the night hours, this new storm front is expected to worsen the situation to some degree. The possibility of high winds will bring about the danger of falling trees as the ground has been saturated for several days.
27 roads remain closed due to flooding, 20 of which are near major waterways. Expect these roads to remain closed for the next several days. Again, the public is cautioned to NEVER attempt to enter or cross floodwaters! An updated list of road closures may be found on the Gordon County Government website, www.gordoncounty.org, as well as on the Gordon County Facebook Page.
The temporary shelter is closed this morning as it has not been needed thus far, but will be reopened if circumstances displace people from their homes.
Emergency Management officials are consulting with the Army Corps of Engineers to determine what effect the release of additional water from Carters Reservoir will have on water levels in and about our local rivers.
More information will be forthcoming as it becomes available.
Residents should continue monitoring local media outlets and the National Weather Service (www.noaa.gov) to stay abreast of changing weather conditions.
Original Local State of Emergency Press Release
Calhoun and Gordon County have been impacted by a recent weather front bringing heavy rains and significant flooding all across the county. There have been 2 deaths which were storm related. This is a very serious situation in which there are treacherous conditions on water flooded roadways, as well as the risk of additional flooding in the next 72 hours. An additional 3+ inches of rain is forecast for our area. A local state of emergency for Gordon County has been declared by the Board of Commissioners. Additional risks will include more flooded roads, downed trees and power lines, and the potential for flooding of residential area. A new round of approaching storms is capable of producing (more) heavy rains and high winds, which can easily topple trees in the rain saturated ground. The weather situation is evolving rapidly, and residents should monitor the National Weather Service (NWS) and local media outlets to keep abreast of the situation.
Calhoun and Gordon County governments have initiated a Unified Command System for public safety and other entities in response to this threat. State and local law enforcement, fire/rescue, emergency medical services, public works, E911, and emergency management representatives are all in conference now at the Emergency Operations Center in Calhoun arranging for the deployment of resources. First Responder agencies have extra personnel and other resources already on stand-by, and additional personnel have been deployed to patrol the affected areas.
A temporary shelter for anyone who might become displaced is being established at theSonoraville Recreation Center at 7494 State Route 53 (Fairmount Highway); any residents who think that their home might be affected are urged to come to the shelter before becoming trapped by rising waters. This shelter will be open at 8 p.m. tonight (December 28)
Officials EMPHASIZE that persons should NOT ATTEMPT TO CROSS OR ENTER FLOODWATERS!
Local and state officials are on duty and will continue to monitor the weather situation, and more updates will be made available to the public in a timely fashion.
Road Closures
All county roads are open except for Doe Lane.
Weather Update
Updated on Wednesday 12/30/2015 as of 8:51 a.m.
From Gordon County EMA Director Richard Cooper:
Rainfall rates/amounts are HIGHER than previous forecast. 3-hour rainfall since 5AM this morning has shown pockets of 2+ inches, especially across Heard, Coweta and Troup counties to the south/west of ATL. Another heavier (1-2 inch) band set up across Haralson, Paulding and northwest Cobb county.
The good news is that the back edge of the heavier rain axis is currently (as of 8:20AM) pushing into northwest Georgia, and should continue to clear areas north of I-20 and at least west of I-75 by 10AM.
The attached graphic shows additional rainfall expected through 7PM this evening. Isolated higher/lower amounts are likely.
Updated on Tuesday 12/29/2015 at 3:13 a.m.
THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH AND CENTRAL GEORGIA.
.DAY ONE…TODAY AND TONIGHT…
HEAVY RAIN REDEVELOPING LATE TONIGHT ACROSS NORTH GEORGIA. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE ACROSS CENTRAL GEORGIA THIS AFTERNOON…AND NORTH GEORGIA TONIGHT.
A COLD FRONT WILL STALL ACROSS CENTRAL GEORGIA TODAY…THEN BEGIN MOVING NORTH AS A WARM FRONT AHEAD OF THE NEXT STORM SYSTEM THAT WILL MOVE ACROSS THE REGION LATE TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY. THERE WILL BE ENOUGH INSTABILITY TO PRODUCE A FEW THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS CENTRAL GEORGIA TODAY…AND ACROSS NORTH GEORGIA TONIGHT. HOWEVER SEVERE STORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED TODAY.
THERE WILL BE A BRIEF BREAK IN THE HEAVY RAIN ACROSS THE REGION TODAY…HOWEVER AS THE STORM SYSTEM BEGINS SPREADING MOISTURE INTO NORTH GEORGIA LATE TONIGHT…SOME OF THE RAIN COULD BE HEAVY. FOR THIS REASON THE FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT. FOR MORE DETAILS ON THE FLOODING…SEE THE LATEST FLOOD WATCH STATEMENT.
.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN…WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY…
THE RISK OF HEAVY RAIN WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE DAY WEDNESDAY AND INTO WEDNESDAY NIGHT ACROSS NORTH GEORGIA. THERE WILL ALSO BE THE RISK OF ISOLATED SEVERE STORMS ACROSS MAINLY NORTH GEORGIA WEDNESDAY WITH THE MAIN THREAT BEING DAMAGING WINDS. HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED AFTER WEDNESDAY…ALTHOUGH FLOODING ALONG RIVERS AND CREEKS FROM THIS WEEKS HEAVY RAINS WILL CONTINUE OVER MANY AREAS INTO THE WEEKEND.
Updated on 12/28/2015 at 11:25 am
THE FLOOD WATCH CONTINUES FOR:
PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL GEORGIA…NORTHEAST GEORGIA… NORTHWEST GEORGIA AND WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA…INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING IN NORTH …CENTRAL GEORGIA…BARROW…CHEROKEE… CLAYTON…COBB…DAWSON…DEKALB…DOUGLAS…FANNIN… FAYETTE…FORSYTH…GILMER…GWINNETT…HALL…HENRY… LUMPKIN…NEWTON…NORTH FULTON…PICKENS…ROCKDALE…SOUTH FULTON…UNION AND WALTON. IN NORTHEAST GEORGIA…BANKS… CLARKE…JACKSON…MADISON…OCONEE…TOWNS AND WHITE. IN NORTHWEST GEORGIA…BARTOW…CARROLL…CATOOSA…CHATTOOGA… DADE…FLOYD…GORDON…HARALSON…MURRAY…PAULDING…POLK… WALKER AND WHITFIELD. IN WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA…COWETA… HEARD…MERIWETHER…SPALDING AND TROUP. * THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING * SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WITH OCCASIONALLY HEAVY RAIN WILL OCCUR IN TWO SEPARATE WAVES THROUGH WEDNESDAY. THE FIRST WAVE WILL MOVE INTO THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON AND CONTINUE INTO TUESDAY…EXITING THE REGION BY TUESDAY EVENING. RAINFALL FROM THIS FIRST WAVE WILL TOTAL 1 TO 2 INCHES WITH ISOLATED HIGHER AMOUNTS IN THE MOUNTAINS. THE NEXT WAVE WILL MOVE INTO THE REGION LATE TUESDAY NIGHT AND CONTINUE INTO WEDNESDAY NIGHT. AN ADDITIONAL 1 TO 2 1/2 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE WITH THIS SECOND WAVE. TOTAL RAINFALL IN THE WATCH AREA OF 3 TO 5 INCHES WITH ISOLATED HIGHER AMOUNTS ARE POSSIBLE BY THURSDAY MORNING. * FLOODING FROM LAST WEEKS HEAVY RAINS CONTINUES ALONG MANY CREEKS AND RIVERS ACROSS NORTH GEORGIA. THIS ADDITIONAL RAINFALL WILL LIKELY PROLONG FLOODING IN MANY OF THESE AREAS…AND LIKELY CAUSE NEW FLOODING. ALSO…TEMPORARY URBAN AND STREET FLOODING COULD OCCUR DUE TO POOR DRAINAGE AND CLOGGED STORM DRAINS WHERE ANY HEAVY RAIN FALLS.
