A HISTORICAL ANALYSIS OF RIVER FLOODING AT SELECT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RIVER FORECAST LOCATIONS IN GEORGIA

Abstract. River flooding has played a significant role in Georgia’s history of natural disasters. As recent as July 1994, heavy rainfall from the remnants of Tropical Storm Alberto caused some of the worst river flooding in Georgia’s history. In April of 2000, the Georgia Emergency Management Agency reported that nearly 75 percent of Georgia’s disaster losses since 1990 had been linked to flooding with an estimated 2 billion dollars in total damage. The National Weather Service has an important role of providing river flood warnings. The purpose in issuing these warnings is to call people to action so that lives will be protected and property will be saved. The National Weather Service issues river forecasts and warnings for over eighty river gage locations in Georgia. Five-day forecasts are made on