Flood waters receded, but fear remains in Austell

Austell is a small town located about 18 miles from downtown Atlanta in Cobb County. Seventeen counties were declared a state of emergency by the Georgia governor following the flooding in September of 2009. However, for its size, Austell was perhaps the most greatly impacted leaving many homeless, displaced, and in thousands of dollars of debt. But many residents of Austell feel that the significant amount of rain is not only to blame and that the city of Austell should be held accountable for not heeding a series of warnings from 20 years prior.

Austell's Sweetwater Creek is fed into by four other creeks .

When rain begins to fall in the town of Austell, residents are fearful and rightfully so. It’s been six months since the city suffered a catastrophic flood that destroyed about 700 homes. Following more than 21 inches of rain Austell, which sits at the juncture of five creeks, saw the worst flooding to date and residents are still coping with the aftermath and demanding answers from the city’s government.

“I’m somewhat mentally traumatized from the whole event,” said resident Brian De Shong. “I never really paid attention to the creek before the flood. But now that we got flooded it’s on my mind all the time.”

De Shong and more than 90 property owners in Austell are suing the city for its “lack of action” in regards to flood prevention. According to Georgia law, residents have six months to file suit against a municipality following a natural disaster.

Flood History

Sweetwater, the largest of Austell’s creeks, has historically been prone to flooding and has been studied four separate times initially in 1964. Mayor Joe Jerkins says according to the most recent report, Austell doesn’t have many options.
“I had it studied by the Corp of Engineers in 1995,” Jerkins said. “There’s not a whole lot you can do. There’s only one answer to it and that’s putting a tunnel underground- but you’re looking at a couple million dollars to do it.”

The National Weather Service defines rainfall severity based on the amount of precipitation in a 24-hour period. September’s flooding was classified as a 500-year flood which has 0.2 percent chance of occurring each year. In 2005, Austell flooded to just below the 500-year flood mark and residents like Mike Otten say that with Austell’s history, much of the recent development should have never occurred and that potential buyers, like himself, should have been given forewarning.

“There should not have been homes built on this property period,” Otten said. “No notice was given that the land had flooded in a reasonable period of time. It wasn’t divulged that there had been significant damage just 200 yards away in 2005. But because it’s not technically in a flood zone they are not obligated – and that’s just wrong.

A Flawed System

The flood mapping system, last updated by the Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA) in 1992, determines what areas are most at risk for flooding based on river flow, storm tides, hydraulic analyses, and rainfall and topographic surveys. Flood-hazard maps display different degrees of risk, and determine the cost of insurance for homes that lie in the flood plain. However, because the maps are not regularly updated, factors such as development than can greatly impact flood risk are not accounted for.

“It’s inaccurate, and outdated,” said attorney Donald Stack. “It’s absolutely failed to take into account the additional development that has occurred. You change the entire topography and land use in an area but you don’t change the mapping?”

FEMA began a nationwide initiative in 2004 to update all state flood-mapping systems. According to the FEMA website, Cobb County’s system was updated in February of 2009, with an effective date of June 2010 – not soon enough for Austell residents. According to a census database, more than 1000 residential building permits were issued in Cobb County since 1995. In 2002 Norfolk Southern Intermodal rail yard, built in 2002, also greatly altered the topography, according to Stack. FEMA states that construction and development can change the natural drainage and create brand new flood risks. New buildings, parking lots, and roads mean less land to absorb excess precipitation from heavy rains, hurricanes, and tropical storms. By replacing impervious ground, the ability of the water shed to absorb the water is reduced.

“It’s got nothing to do with it,” said Jerkins. “Any of the building for the last 25 years have had retention ponds built so the water had places to go.”

Mayor Joe Jerkins discusses the impact of the flood and the responsibility of homeowners to have flood insurance. One of Jerkin’s own properties was also affected.

The Norfolk Southern Intermodal rail yard runs directly through the center of Austell. In a landmark decision, Norfolk Southern was permitted to build the railyard despite countywide opposition.

Flood plain location is important to homeowners because determines who is eligible for the federal home buyback program. Insurance companies also use flood-mapping systems to determine if homes require flood coverage. At the time of September’s flooding, only about three percent of Austell homeowners had flood insurance.

“Two weeks before the flood I was on the phone with the insurance company,” Otten said. “We actually talked about flood insurance and made the determination not to get it because we were not in a flood zone.”

The New Orleans of Georgia

Austell’s extensive history of flooding, recent development boom, and low-lying location proved to be the ‘perfect storm’ for September’s epic floods. Stack, who is representing Austell property owners in the upcoming suit, believes the responsibility is shared both by developers and Austell’s city government.

“Developers just come in and level everything – ignoring the natural topography and the city has allowed building on areas that shouldn’t be developed,” Stack said. “You’re bound to have problems, especially in areas with a history of flooding.”

Mike Otten discusses the impact of the railroad on the day of the flooding.

Fire and emergency response personnel will never forget September’s flood. Fire Chief Tim Williams said it was the most catastrophic of his career.

“To us it was our Katrina,” Williams said. “And we learned from it. The hardest part was seeing the looks on their faces and knowing that they lost everything.”

Justice for Austell

Stack is representing more than 50 families from Austell in a suit against the city. Stack stated: “The city has been and continues to be negligent in the performance of its ministerial duties. The city has illegally changed and permitted the change of flood plains and drained elevations, causing and contributing to our clients’ damage and injury.” Demanding compensation for his clients, Stack hopes to secure settlements to help the residents begin to rebuild their homes and their lives. But to Mayor Jerkins, the suit is “a waste of time” and the city is not accountable for damages.

“They need to sue God,” Jerkins said. “21 inches of rain caused the flood – we’ve done nothing wrong.”

But for residents like Otten and De Shong filing suit against the city, the financial prospect is not necessarily the driving factor. They just want answers.

“If some party somewhere was negligent they need to be brought to justice because of that,” said De Shong. “The reason we are in this problem is because nobody ever held Joe Jerkins and the city of Austell accountable.”
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