2009 Southeastern United States floods
The September 2009 Southeastern United States floods were a group of floods that affected several counties throughout northern Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas. The worst flooding occurred across the Atlanta metropolitan area. Continuous rain, spawned by moisture pulled from the Gulf of Mexico, fell faster than the local watersheds could drain the runoff. Initial damages from around the state were estimated at $250 million. On September 26, Georgia Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine raised the estimated cost to $500 million with the potential for it to rise. Some 20,000 homes, businesses and other buildings received major damage and 17 Georgia counties received Federal Disaster Declarations. The flood is blamed for at least ten deaths. The floods were historic, breaking records that went back more than a century in some locations. The Chattahoochee River, the largest river in the region, measured water levels at a 500-year flood level. Beginnings Rain began falling on the Atlanta area on September 15, 2009, with the National Weather Service reporting only 0.04 inches that day at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Additional rain fell throughout the week, with only a trace amount recorded for September 18. However, a large rain event began to inundate the