Austell residents angry over flood

By Ralph Ellis


The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Angry Austell residents crammed into the City Council meeting Monday night to complain about the city’s lack of planning for the Sept. 21 floods that damaged about 700 homes.

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Jason Getz, jgetz@ajc.com Austell residents continue to clean up weeks after floods ravaged the Cobb County community.

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 A number of residents faulted the city for not telling them about the 2005 flood that damaged about 100 homes. About 60 residents attended the meeting.

“Had we all known there was a flood before ... we would have made some plans to get flood insurance,” said Dana Gordon.

 But Mayor Joe Jerkins said the city followed federal guidelines in requiring that houses must be 3 feet above the 100-foot flood plain to qualify for insurance. To do otherwise would have been inviting lawsuits, he said. The latest floods are considered a 500-year flood.

 He also said the Army Corps of Engineers was asked to re-examine the city flood plains after the 2005 flood but did not make any changes.

 Jerkins said the city would work with the Cobb County government and state and federal agencies to get FEMA to purchase as many houses as possible from the homeowners.

 But several people said they felt the council, Jerkins in particular, was not taking their problem seriously by making comments such as: “Do we want to go back to Noah’s Ark and make everybody get flood insurance? The whole world may flood.”

“A lot of us feel the situation is being taken lightly by you, mayor,” said Shawndra Williams.

Homeowner Vernon Chandler said remarks by Jerkins and council member Beverly James Boyd were “condescending.”

Jerkins and other officials often referred to FEMA as the agency that would have to solve the problems, not the city government. The city officials said, for instance, that only the Army Corps of Engineers could change the flood plain maps. Residents were encouraged to complain to their congressmen.

 “We don’t have the answers right now,” Boyd said, “but [Jerkins] is trying to get them.”