13 Die as Torrential Rain Swamps Southeast; No Letup in Sight

The remnants of Tropical Storm Alberto remained a massive black cloud camped over much of Georgia and parts of Alabama and Florida on Wednesday, pounding the region for a third straight day with steady rains that have shut major interstate highways, knocked out power and water systems and led to the deaths of at least 13 people.

Drinking water was being trucked into Macon, Ga., a city of 120,000 residents, after the Ocmulgee River rose and swamped a purification plant. By nightfall the floodwaters had crested a levee and were flowing down city streets.

Flooding also shut both treatment plants in Clayton County to the north, where 200,000 customers were asked to conserve water so the emergency supply would last until repairs could be made.

With more rain forecast, Georgia Gov. Zell Miller declared a state of emergency in 30 counties. National Guard troops were patrolling stricken areas.

“They say that we haven’t had anything like this since 1929,” said Charlotte Cotton, clerk-treasurer for the city of Americus, which recorded more than 21 inches of rainfall in 24 hours ending Wednesday morning.

“We’ve had eight fatalities here. Riding around, I’ve seen houses floating down the road, bridges washed out, cars underwater. We’ve had to rescue people from trees. And they say we’re getting more.”

Indeed, forecasters called for up to nine more inches of rain in southern Georgia and parts of Alabama as the low-pressure system idled over the area. With light winds from the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico funneling moisture into the system, rain in amounts from 10 to 15 inches fell in a broad swath between Macon and Dothan, Ala.

“We’ve never seen anything like this,” the governor said after a helicopter tour of the state Wednesday. “There are bridges that have been built where they would withstand any kind of flood, they thought, and they’ve been covered with water. It’s the worst that this state has seen, I think.”

Macon was virtually cut off. Interstates 16 and 75, which intersect at Macon, were closed because of high water, which measured four feet deep in some places.

In Peachtree City, south of Atlanta, some 14 inches of rain fell in 12 hours, and about 75 residents were rescued by boat.

“Most people didn’t come to work today because they are home trying to pump out the basement or fix leaks in the roof,” said Mary Ellen Massello, president of the Americus-Sumter County Chamber of Commerce.

Scores of people were being housed in emergency shelters in Americus, and 200 more planned to spend Wednesday night in the Lebanon Baptist Church nine miles away in Plains, the hometown of former President Jimmy Carter.

Among deaths blamed on the rains were those of a man and woman in Bibb County who were swept away in their pickup while trying to cross Rocky Creek, a teen-age girl in Rockdale County who drowned while trying to save a friend’s dog from a flooded ditch, and another man who died after diving into a creek in an attempt to secure a bridge.

By Wednesday afternoon, the emergency had spread to southeastern Alabama, where flooding had closed dozens of roads. Gov. Jim Folsom declared three counties a disaster area.

In Florida’s Holmes County, all county roads were closed and residents in low-lying areas along the Choctawhatchee River were ordered out.

Torrential rains flooded several homes in Graceville in Jackson County, blocking Florida 77.

Stanley, a Times researcher, reported from Atlanta, and Clary, a special correspondent, from Miami.