Obama phones Perdue about Georgia flood

By Staff

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama took a break from United Nations climate change discussions Tuesday night to call Gov. Sonny Perdue about the Georgia's worst weather-related disaster in recent years.

While not yet declaring the counties hit hardest by flooding federal disaster areas, "the president assured Gov. Perdue that his request for federal aid would receive prompt attention," White House spokeswoman Gannet Tseggai said Wednesday morning.

Obama also "expressed his condolences for the loss of life and his concern for the citizens of Georgia amidst the ongoing flooding," she said.

Perdue on Tuesday asked the president for an emergency declaration to assist 17 counties hit hardest by the flooding. The president must sign an emergency declaration before federal aid is delivered.

Perdue is requesting about $16.4 million in aid for everything from emergency aid to individuals whose homes were damaged to debris removal and emergency supplies.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency was reviewing the request, and Georgia’s congressional delegation contacted the White House and emergency officials, urging them to hustle. State Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine estimates the storms caused $250 million in damage.

“I think the story will probably be the bridges in the weeks ahead,” said U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), who lives in east Cobb County and saw the flooding here Monday. “Those bridges were really put under a lot of stress.”

U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) drafted a House resolution offering sympathy to storm victims.

“I will be doing all I can — working with state, city and county officials as well as making petitions to the federal government — to offer as much assistance as is available in this tragic situation,” it read.

The state Department of Transportation hasn’t yet figured the cost of repairing storm-damaged roads, but following this spring’s flooding in South Georgia, emergency responses such as clearing debris, rerouting traffic, or installing temporary road patches cost about $1.1 million, said spokesman David Spear.

That doesn’t include permanent repairs made afterward to roads or bridges. The two deluges were comparable by DOT standards, Spear said.

Inspection crews and federal officials started assessing damage on Tuesday, but they need things to dry out before coming up with good estimates. Repairing a washed-out culvert could cost about $100,000, but damage to water or utility pipes underneath could double that amount, for example.

“Some could go as high as $1 million, I think, depending on what the damage is,” said Gwinnett County transportation director Brian Allen, who said five or six county roads would need “longer-term repair.”

Fixing flooded stretches of highway or interstate bridges, like the portions of I-20 still under water Tuesday, can involve price tags with lots of zeros. Repairs after a highway bridge collapsed in Minneapolis in 2007 — an extreme example — cost about $300 million, said Federal Highway Administration spokeswoman Nancy Singer.

Perdue’s declaration of a state of emergency on Monday was the first step in the process of getting federal aid, which could pay for at least 80 percent of the transportation repair cost. Singer said Georgia “likely would be eligible” for federal road aid now.

Without government assistance, homeowners lacking flood insurance — likely thousands of metro Atlantans — will have to pay for repairs themselves or forgo them.

Staff Writer Jennifer Brett contributed to this report.