Atlanta flood 2009: Most captivating photos

Metro Atlanta

Atlanta flood 2009: Most captivating photos

Atlanta flood photos from staff and readers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Residents of Sweetwater Valley Condominiums Cherise Banner, 20, left, and her mother Jennipher Ward, right, separate wet family photographs on a blanket to dry as they recover from the flood Thursday morning in Austell. Flood water came into every unit in the complex filling the first floor a little above waist level (around 40 inches). Ward has hundreds of family photographs that she keeps for the family dating back to the 1930s.

Family and friends of Seydi Burciaga find solace duiring the service ceremony celebrated at the Lady of the Americas in Lilburn. Saydi was one of the victims from the flood in Georgia.

Ximana Flores, 3, holds her mother's hand Wednesday in Austell. She's standing at Clay Road and Victoria Lane, where Noses Creek flooded. The family has not been able to reach their home on Mosley Chase Drive since Sunday.

Smith: "I asked my neighbor if she .... check (Carroll Street flooding) out. We had to get through this tunnel to get there, so needless to say traffic was diverted. We both screamed like the girls we are when we saw this couple canoeing in the tunnel. I parked at the nearest street and hurried back. She loaned me her rain boots, but at this point in the tunnel, they were useless as the water was way past them."

Nancy Jesus (left) and her mother-in-law Maria Medel try to save belongings from Jesus' mobile home as her daughter Nancy Uballe (left corner), 5, helps at Countryside Village of Atlanta in Lawrenceville. Jesus family does not have any kind of insurance and lost everything.

Heavy rains forced the closing Monday of schools and of dozens of roads in Gwinnett -- mostly in the Lilburn and Snellville areas.In Lilburn flood waters overturned a school bus and pushed around several others like toys on a bus lot near Parkview High on Cole Drive.

Cherokee Fire Department rescue personnel help Ammie Hunter, 89, while evacuating her from her Lindsey Drive home in Powder Springs.

Some homes in this subdivision in Cobb County near Austell were high and dry, but gave their owners no way to get past the flood waters.

Doug Alexander walks through waist high water flowing in front of his North Atlanta home in order to get to his car Monday to pick up his son from school.

Sean Todd removes mud left by the overflowing Yellow River in his parents' driveway on Rolling River Drive in Lilburn. Two cars were completely submerged. Todd's parents are away on a Caribbean cruise.

Over 200 students from the flooded out Clarkdale Elementary school entered Compton Elementary for the first time as their new school Thursday.

Flood waters from the Chattahoochee River cover Six Flags.

A HERO driver makes an early morning assessment of the flooding on I-285.

Mercedes McGee looks over her belongings as she and her husband, Michael (not pictured), spent Thursday salvaging belongings at their home on Sunlight Drive in Austell. They have no flood insurance. Co-workers have been helping with the cleanup. They moved many of their important belongings to the second floor but suffered a total loss downstairs.

Cobb Police pursue a man by boat who had ventured into the flood waters at Valley Lane and Clay Street putting himself at risk. The incident followed a nearby structure fire in the flood waters that the man reportedly had waded out on a float to take pictures.

Craig and Bridgett Crawford lost their beloved 2-year-old son, Preston, in a flood that destroyed their Carrollton home Monday. The flood was so powerful it wrapped the Crawford family's Jeep Cherokee around a tree. Raging waters tore Preston from his dad's grip while Bridgett Crawford clung to a tree with one arm and held onto her 1-year-old son, Cooper, with the other.

Cobb County Superintendent Fred Sanderson navigates his way through the debris inside the front hallway of Clarkdale Elementary school Wednesday in Austell.

Mary Lee Brown takes photos of her parents' belongings for insurance. Cindy and Forrest Brown owned the home which was located along the Chattahoochee River in Vinings and received more than 6 feet of water on the first floor. The family has flood insurance and plans to rebuild. Brown estimated the damage, will take months to clean up.

Jan Cooper (left) and Joy Southerland drag trash from the home of a friend, retired Army Sgt. Willie Smith, who lives on Sunlight Drive in Austell. The two work at Cumberland Christian Academy, where his daughter is a student. They took the day off Thursday to help.

Only an earthworm was using the westbound lane of I-20 after it was closed due to flooding from the Chattahoochee River on Tuesday.

Blake Fowler, 17, looks at the washed out road near his home at 3810 Post Road in Douglas County. The road washed out along Post Road about a mile south of I-20 in Winston, Douglas County.

An overhead view looking south shows the flooded Downtown Connector just north of the International Boulevard/Ellis Street interchange.

Georgia State Patrol trooper C. Hinkle comes to the aid of a female motorist whose car stalls in flood waters on I-85 south at Spaghetti Junction during rush hour.

In Vinings, John Knox takes his kayak back to his house on Paces Ferry Drive Tuesday as he ferried supplies to and from his house that is 5 feet under water. The 2004 flood came within an inch of getting in. This time they weren't so lucky.

Joe Rich moved to Paces Manor 2 and a half years ago. Tuesday he was trapped at his house with no way out - but a boat. He has been ferrying various things back and forth and is surprised he still has power. Vinings residents were dealing with a major flooding issue Tuesday as the Chattahoochee River made its way along the banks near Paces Ferry Road.

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Residents of Sweetwater Valley Condominiums Cherise Banner, 20, left, and her mother Jennipher Ward, right, separate wet family photographs on a blanket to dry as they recover from the flood Thursday morning in Austell. Flood water came into every unit in the complex filling the first floor a little above waist level (around 40 inches). Ward has hundreds of family photographs that she keeps for the family dating back to the 1930s.

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