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Houston Times-Journo!
Volume 124 No. 55
1 Section, 8 Pages
Inside
Today
Today's edition of the Houston
Times-Journal is devoted to the
July Flood of 1994.
Many of the regular features
have been cancelled this week to
bring our readers photographs
and in-depth reports on the
damage that occurred in Perry
and parts of the county due to
flooding.
Other features, such as regular
columns, letters to the editor and
church news, will return next
week.
County to
receive aid
from feds
By VETO F. ROLEY
Staff Writer
After declaring Houston County
a federal disaster area Friday,
Governor Zell Miller and federal of
ficers asked local officials to set a
list of priorities to be taken care of.
Also, Miller said road repairs
will be done according to priority.
The interstates, Interstate 75 and In
terstate 16, have the highest prior
ity for repair. However, he added
that Highway 247 was very high on
the priority list for repair.
Houston County Commission
Chairman Sherrill Stafford said the
repair of Lake Joy Road and Hous
ton Lake Road were priority for
county work crews to repair, open
ing up two of the five existing cor
ridors between Perry and Warner
Robins. As of press time, two
others were open, Interstate 75 and
Highway 247 Spur. The other cor
ridor, Highway 41, is still closed.
Stafford added that the repair of
Highway 247 was also very impor
tant to the county, providing access
to the county landfill. However, he
said the county had an alternate
route through Highway 247 Spur
Please see AID, pagesA
Homeowners on
flood plain may
be able to move
By BRIGETTE LOUDERMILK
Editor
Homeowners residing on the flood
plain on Elko Road may be able to
re-locate, courtesy of the federal
government.
Perry's Mayor and City Council
announced Friday afternoon that
several federal programs are in place
that allow residents in a flood plain
area to re-locate.
"We're urging the residents whose
homes on Elko Road were flooded
not to sign any agreements with
home repair companies. The coun
cil will be in touch with these
homeowners early next week,"
Mayor James E. Worrall said during
Flood cuts off major roadways, many still closed
By BRIGETTE LOUDERMILK
Editor
Damage to area roads, dams and
bridges caused Perry to be literally
cut off from the rest of the world
until Thursday morning with
Interstate 75 between Byron and
Perry exit 43 opening.
According to city officials, the
following damage has been reported
in the local area:
•Bay Creek Bridge on Highway
341 received structural damage.
•Houston Lake Bridge received
'Flooded' with problems
Aerial scenes of
damage from flood
detail destruction
By JIMMY SIMPSON
Staff Writer
One of the most disastrous
storms in history swept across the
midstate this week, depicting scenes
that could have been used for a
television movie.
The sights were reminiscent of
flooding just over a year ago in the
Midwest where extensive damage
created havoc and claimed a number
of lives.
The mass destruction this time
around was a result of the remnant
storms of Tropical Storm Alberto
that originated in the Gulf of
Mexico and swept across Florida
waters. By July 3 the storm had
moved into southwest Georgia. The
storm’s winds moved at speeds
longing from 39 to 73 mph.
Although there were no deaths
reported here, 18 people were
reported as fatalities statewide.
Houston County was one of 43
Georgia counties Gov. Miller
declared in a state of emergency this
week. Four of those counties have
been declared disaster areas by
Federal authorities.
On the ground, water could
visibly be seen overtaking roads and
bridges as workers from a number
of agencies scrambled to stop
massive flooding in low-lying
areas.
But what many observers
couldn’t see was the mass
destruction on the outskirts of the
city. An invitation by the Georgia
State Patrol to view the damage
from the air allowed the Houston
Times-Journal to assess the damage
in a different picture.
the called emergency meeting.
Worrall also updated the council
on a meeting held in Macon be
tween local officials and state and
federal government officials includ
ing Governor Zell Miller, Senators
Sam Nunn and Paul Coverdell.
Since Houston County was de
clared a national disaster area Friday
afternoon, federal funds will be
available to repair much of the
damage to local roads and bridges.
Perry officials met early this morn
ing to prioritize disaster areas that
need attention. All members of
council agreed the Elko Road resi
dents forced to abandon their homes
would be the city's first priority.
when the dam at Houston Lake
burst.
•Lake Joy Bridge received struc
tural damage and a water line in the
area broke when the dam at Lake
Joy burst.
•Mossy Creek Bridge on Highway
41N received structural damage.
•Mossy Creek Bridge at Highway
41 Circle received structural damage
and a water line broke.
k The bridge on Highway 341 Sat
the Highway 247 connector received
Official Organ For Houston County, City of Perry & State of Georgia
At 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, any
barriers along dams that hadn’t
already bursted, were on the verge
of a massive collapse. Concrete
foundations used as support beams
for railroad transportation had
completely diminished. And at the
local airport, the setting resembled
more of a ghost town.
Short on fuel, GSP pilots were
forced to touch down, drive a fuel
truck onto the runway, and pump
their own fuel after airport officials
were unable to make their
destination earlier in the morning.
Once in the air, the damage
appeared to be even more
widespread and severe.
Pastures normally grazed by
farm animals were completely
hidden by water. It is not known
the severity of fatalities concerning
those animals.
Hundreds of acres of farmlands
were also targeted by the waters.
Irrigation systems also appeared to
have been severly damaged beyond
repair.
More than a dozen homes located
in isolated areas of the county were
also severely affected. On numerous
occasions, pilot Mike Rhodes was
forced to sweep down and circle
homes often displaying only
shingles from rooftops.
If rescue operations had been
required, emergency personnel
would appear to have been hard
pressed to get to their victims due
to water that continued to rise.
But like an earthquake, the real
aftershock is most likely yet to
come. Almost all homeowners are
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The flood waters that separated South Perry and North Perry Wednesday and
Thursday, also did considerable damage to residences along the Big Indian Creek
side of Elko Road.
structural damage.
Officials from the state
Department of Transportation were
still assessing roads Friday, and no
time limit has been set as to when
these main roads would be open to
traffic again.
As of press time Friday, the fol
lowing area roads were closed:
•U.S. Highway 41 at Mossy
Creek.
•Georgia 11 (49) closed at the
Bibb County line in front of
For News And Subscriptions Call 912-987-1823
Legals
Page 6A
Saturday, July 9, 1994
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Flooding reached down Into the southwest corner of Houston County, with this
photo of a house, two vehicles and two storage buildings being taken southwest of
Henderson.
believed not to have .carried flood
insurance.
Automobiles and farm vehicles
Vinson Valley and in front of
Byron Printing.
•Georgia 42 closed at
Marshallville in Peach County.
•State Road 96 is closed except
from Bonaire to Interstate 75 at the
Houser's Mill Road exit.
•Highway 127 is closed at
Houston Lake Road and from Perry
to Marshallville.
•Highway 247 is closed at the
Bib/Houston County line going
north. The connector has one lane
Classified
Page 7A
were also targeted by the flood.
Several dozen cars and trucks could
be seen floating in the unexpected
open in front of KMart in Warner
Robins and is passable from
Robins Air Force Base to Interstate
75. The highway is closed at Big
Indian Creek southside.
•Highway 341 N at Perry is closed
at Bay Creek Bridge and in
Hawkinsville at River Bridge.
•County roads closed include
Smithville Church Road, Hatcher
Road, Joy Drive, Ridgedale, Peach
Blossom Road and Lake Joy Road.
Roads open as of press time
Perry, Georgia -50 Cents
lakes.
But perhaps one of the most
Please see AERIAL, page 8A
Disaster
relief!
Citizens can call
to be considered
for federal relief
All citizens in Houston County
with damage need to contact the
local Emergency Management
Office at 912-542-2026 or 542-
2040 to place names on damage
assessment list. They also need to
call FEMA (Federal Emergency
Management Agency) at 1-800-462-
9029 or TDD (Hearing Impaired) at
1-800-462-7585 to register the
damage on the federal disaster list
This is for information so that
Houston County may speed up any
federal assistance that the citizens of
Houston County may be eligible
for. Your cooperation is greatly
appreciated and is crucial for>all
citizens of Houston County.
to traffic
Friday were:
•Interstate 75 South.
•Interstate 75 North is open, how
ever, traffic has been one lane north
of Byron. Traffic cuts off at
Hardeman Avenue.
The Georgia State Patrol added
that areas such as Dooly County
and Hawkinsville were just begin
ning to experience some of the
same problems as Houston County
with flooded roads and reported that
Please see ROADS, page2A
