Albany official says worst of Flint River flooding over

ALBANY — Albany Fire Department Chief Ron Rowe, who also serves as Dougherty County’s Emergency Management Agency director, told the County Commission at its Monday-morning meeting that the level of the Flint River had dropped 2 feet overnight.

“It’s going down, but it’s going slowly,” Rowe told commissioners. “It looks like it will be Thursday before the water level will go below 26 feet, which is flood stage for the river.”

According to the National Weather Service, the river stage was at 30.1 feet at 10 a.m. Monday. As the water receded, the NWS model indicates the Flint should drop below flood stage sometime Wednesday morning. The city, however, remains under a NWS flood watch until Tuesday evening.

“It appears that the water is receding and with no forecast of rain, I think the worst is over based on that,” Rowe said.

Rowe praised city and county employees for their “collaborative effort” during the flooding.

“We never had to give an evacuation order, but we went door-to-door in some of the low-lying areas and the residents there chose to self-evacuate,” the fire chief said. “If there’s any reason for applause today, it’s for the great response of everyone involved and the way they worked together.”

County Public Works Director Larry Cook told the commission appropriate personnel are currently evaluating damage costs in the city and county.

“We passed out nearly 500 sandbags since Christmas Eve when we first got word the flood waters were coming,” Cook said. “And our people went to a lot of the same places that fire department personnel went to warn citizens.

“I can report that we’ve now re-opened both lanes of Lover’s Lane Road, and our folks are in the process of assessing costs.”

County Administrator Richard Crowdis praised Rowe for his and emergency responders’ efforts.

“This was your first trial under fire as EMA director, and you definitely passed the test,” Crowdis said.

Farther downriver in Newton, the Flint was expected to crest at 32.3 feet Monday, eight feet above flood stage of 24 feet.

“The water seems to be receding now, but water reached the steps of the old courthouse and the air-conditioning system has been compromised. We hope to be able to get into the building Wednesday or Thursday to conduct a damage assessment. We are also not sure of the damages around town, but 12 people were affected in one way or another.”

Along the Kinchafoonee Creek, which crested at 18.03 feet over the weekend, Lee County officials estimated nearly 100 Lee County homes had been affected in some way by flood waters and at least 85 had water inside of the house. County Zoning, Planning and Engineer Matt Inman said homes which had more than 18 inches of water inside the structure would likely have electrical damage.

According to NWS data released Monday morning, the Kinchafoonee staged at 13.3 feet, just over flood stage of 13.0 feet.

“We did a ‘windshield’ (driving past the homes) assessment of the damage before the water started going down,” Inman said. “We assigned $10.50 per square foot to any home we saw damaged, and came up with an amount of $1.6 million. That’s basically just tearing out and replacing sheet rock. We expect that amount to rise once we can get inside the homes.”

Dougherty County Health Department Health Director Remy Hutchins advised people who are returning to their homes or businesses should take precautions to avoid hazards that could impact their health.

As high waters recede and recovery workers, residents, business owners and volunteers prepare to clean previously flooded areas or structures, they should first ensure their tetanus shots are up-to-date, Hutchins said. Tetanus vaccine fees will be waived for individuals directly involved in flood clean-up activities.

Carlton Fletcher contributed to this article.