The Anniston Star from Anniston, Alabama • Page 8

3fye fttmtgton tar Page 8A Friday, July 8, 1994 Thousands, evacuate as river threatens "ST i' 1 ty of 80,000 people. Emergency crews assembled a flotilla of boats, hooking them to trucks and taking them to submerged neighborhoods to get residents out. More than 15,000 residents nearly a quarter of the population of city in southwest Georgia city were evacuated. The river, which cuts through Albany, topped 41 feet overnight, 21 feet above flood stage. It was expected to Crest 45 feet after midnight tonight.

The last of three bridges crossing Flint was closed today. About caskets floated out of the ground, held in only by cemetery fences. Albany's Palmyra Park Hospital, surrounded by water, evacuated seven of its most ill patients today water flooded the basement, said Jeff Rush, a hospital official. He said they were taken by helicopter a hospital in Columbus. Another 150 patients remained in the Albany hospital.

THE FLOODS have also left 300,000 Georgians without safe drinking water and caused more than $100 million damage. Rivers; and streams have flooded By Joan Kirchner Associated Press ALBANY, Ga. The sun pierced through the clouds today while residents clung to trees and rooftops as the swelling Flint River spilled over homes and roads. More thunderstorms were in the forecast. Until now, Georgia has been inundated with four days of unrelenting rain the remnants of Tropical Storm Alberto that has taken at least 18 lives.

And the number of missing was raised to six today after a van swerved off an Albany road and plunged into the Flint River, Five people in the vehicle escaped, but two children, ages 2 and 4, were missing. Rivers also flooded in the Florida Panhandle and in Alabama, where one death was reported today. Light rains continued today in those states, and some highways were closed in Florida. Huge sections of central and southern Georgia remained submerged today in a sea of muddy flood waters. "We've been pulling them from trees, power poles and all kinds of things," said J.W.

Arrowwood, assistant fire chief in this communi Alabama flood finu lim Pnknm asknri Pmsiriant Clinton declare 7 Wiregrass counties disaster this at at the 50 as to j'wj i Associated Press horses swept away by floodwaters near Leesburg, Ga. Dozens of residents left their homes in Leesburg, a town to the north flooded by a creek that feeds the Flint. Some walked along a five-lane highway closed to traffic carrying suitcases or clothes on hangers. In Macon, officials couldn't tell -iL V- Volunteers corral one of four more than 400,000 acres of crops, broken through 31 dams and spilled over 45 more. Nine city and county water systems were knocked out.

Though southwest Georgia was partly cloudy this morning, afternoon thunderstorms were forecast. As the rivers rose, authorities warned that snakes and alligators would be on the move. "There will be more poisonous snakes showing up in yards along the edges of the flooded areas," said Terry Johnson, director of the Georgia. Wildlife Resources Division's non-game wildlife program. President Clinton authorized federal disaster aid for four counties, providing housing grants, low-cost loans and other assistance.

Gov. Zell Miller has declared 43 counties disaster areas. Thirty-five miles north of here, in I As ol 11 p.m. CDT Wednesday Whether you need a little or a lot! Lawn and Yard Materials White Sand Mulch Mass Rock Decorative Rock Top Soil We have it bagged, or you can buy in bulk Miller Sand Gravel 345 DeArmanville Road In Golden Springs 237-5352 Open Saturdays 8 am to 3pm, Weekdays 7 am to 5 pm Mr roundup to areas. Area river flood stages Chattahoochee Saffold.

Ga. Flood stage 103 ft. 6 p.m. oui non. Expected crest 120 ft.

Choctawhatchee Caryville, Fla. Flood stage 13 ft. 6 p.m. CDT 14 ft. Expected crest 22 ft.

Poa Elba, Ala. Flood stage 30 ft. 10 p.m. CDT 35 ft. Expected crest 39 ft.

(A Henry Ala. All roads, except U.S. 431, are closed due to flooding. Blakely, Ga. Seven families have been evacuated In Early County.

Power outages and flooded roads. 10 miles 10 km ft cA: Jfl.iW. I I all SI Blakelv. A Americus, where at least 10 perished in the deluge, divers and volunteers continued to search for bodies. Fleeing residents said the river's speed and force overwhelmed them.

"It's just rising quicker and quicker," said Colleen. Creech, watching water creep into her yard as friends packed up her furniture Thursday night "You can stand in one place and your feet will be under water in 10 minutes." "All the main roads are blocked by water," said Ms. Creech's brother, Greg. "It's like you're on an island. You're Those who fled stayed in makeshift shelters or friends' homes.

Power companies cut electricity to flooded areas. The town's three colleges and several factories closed down. 4 C) 1 Take An Additional -r how high the Ocmulgee River crested the gauge was swept away. Officials estimated the river was at 35 feet; the flood stage is 18 feet. The waters began to recede I slightly Thursday night.

A 245-foot section of the city's earthen levee that had been washed away Wednesday night was stabilized Thursday, said Ronald Edwards of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. About 150,000 people in the city and surrounding area have been without water since the treatment plant flooded Wednesday. At a water distribution center, 750-people stood in line for an hour. Inmates from a nearby prison were put to work building dikes of sandbags around the city's water treatment plant Show must go on When the announcement came from Montgomery that Jacksonville State College would be designated a university, President Houston Cole was at home sick with the flu.

He dressed hurridly, pulled on a sweater and walked to campus to make the official announcement. Charge. Closings Holmet Fla. Ala. county roads are closed 84, 167 and 134 U.S.

90 Ala. Jsckson Fla. 103,167,86 and 52 43. 40, 16. 4, 55.

Washington Co, Fla. State 79 Ala. lfr yS, except U.S. 431 State39 Co. Ala.

59, 22. 75, 33, Many Wiregrass residential 42 roads are also closed. Ozark, Ala. Thousands or county residents were evacuated Fort Rucker Lake Tholocco expected to discharge significant amounts of water into the Claybank Creek basin. to shelters.

1 fy Enterprise Elba. Ala. Authorities ordered a mandatory evacuation of all residents. Geneva, Ala. Authorities ordered a mandatory evacuation of all residents.

Caryville Caryville, Fla. Flooding along the Choctawhatchee caused the evacuation of an estimated 2,000 people. Floods From Page 1 "I DON'T KNOW if I can stand this no more," she said as a tear ran down her cheek. "It's too heartbreaking, you lose what you work too hard for." For Mrs. Wiggins, who fled with her husband and four children, and the hundreds of others whose homes already are filled with water, it may be days before the sea of misery recedes.

And it may be even longer before the country roads that serve this fanning area are back to normal. Many stretches of roadway were washed away, as were gome bridges, while others stood under water. More than 200 National Guardsmen have been activated since the rains intensified on Wednesday to assist in evacuations and provide water purification systems. Volun-leers joined emergency crews piling sandbags and pumping water from flooded locales. Some 2,500 people were evacuated from the levee area of Geneva, a town of about 4,600 where the Pea and Choctawhattchee rivers converge.

At Elba, where more than 1,200 were evacuated earlier, the Pea River climbed more than 20 feet in about 24 hours to a level of 38 feet early Thursday morning only six feet from the top of the levee only to begin falling by early evening. THE LEVEE, rebuilt after it broke and turned Elba into a huge lake in 1990, was pronounced fit Thursday by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. "We have not seen anything to indicate any failure points on the levee," said Corps spokeswoman Gretchen Greeson. The levee at Geneva held, but most people agreed that the flooding this time is worse than in 1990.

"Harry Taylor's house was spared four years ago. By 5 p.m. Thursday the water's surface stopped just below the lower edge of the windows on the single-floor house. "I got a few clothes, the TV, the VCR, that's it," he said. "I hate it but there's nothing I can do." Eufaula If Wucter, rtfl Clayhache -J rjothan I Road Coffee Co.

State 189, Geneva State County 64, 65, 8 and 41 Henry Co, All roads Houston County 32, 55, 54, and JJOff P. PauleyThe Dothan (Ala.) Eagle via AP How to help People wanting to help flood victims in south Alabama are being asked to contribute money instead of food, clothing or other items. Both the Salvation Army and Red Cross are set up to distribute money to flood victims. The flooding makes it difficult to distribute items to those in need, said Red Cross Executive Director Virginia Dingier. Victims can use the cash to buy what they need.

For those interested in helping, the local addresses are: Salvation Army, P.O. Box 218, Anniston, 36202. American Red Cross, P.O. Box 1204, Anniston, 36202. "We really didn't think it would come this far, we're the highest house here," Ms.

Peacock said, looking at the flooded structures, two churches among them. Only rooftops were visible in the tance. AUTHORITIES said the first Alabama fatality of the flood occurred near Geneva, where a man died when his pickup truck was engulfed by flood waters. Geneva Police Chief Frankie Lindsey said the victim, whose body was found in a tree, apparently drove around a barricade just outside the city limits. His name was withheld until relatives could be notified.

The disaster of the 1990 flood was fresh on many minds in Elba. Four years ago, Sandra Siler and her husband, Jerry, hurried to safety when the levee broke. "We had to get on a boat to get to our house the following she said. "This time, the house is totally empty of furnishings." In downtown Elba, Casey Patterson and his brother Richard were helping their father clean out his jewelry store Thursday. "We just can't afford to lose it all," said Casey.

They were among a restricted number of residents, such as hospital workers, who were allowed into the evacuated downtown area. Selected Merchandise Sale Ends Sunday AAAAAAAAAAAAAA Use Your Wakefield's Six Month Free Credit Option.