PREFACE
A decaying tropical system, previously known as Tropical Storm
Alberto, produced torrential rainfall which resulted in some of
the worst flooding ever observed across portions of the States
of Georgia, Alabama, and Florida during July 1994. The rainfall
led to exceptional flooding across central and western Georgia,
eastern Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle. Five river basins
were particularly hard hit: (1) the Flint River Basin in western
Georgia, (2) the Ocmulgee River Basin in central Georgia, (3)
the Chattahoochee River Basin along the Georgia-Alabama state
line, (4) the Choctawhatchee River Basin in Alabama, and (5) the
Apalachicola River Basin in Florida. The flooding claimed 33 lives
and caused damages estimated at close to $750 million. A National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) disaster survey
team assembled for its first meeting in Peachtree City, Georgia,
on the morning of July 18, 1994. All aspects of weather and flood
warning systems--from data acquisition to user response--were
surveyed to determine NOAA's effectiveness and to recommend improvements
if deficiencies were found. This report gives the results and
findings of the survey team.
The survey team consisted of the following individuals:
Dr. William H. Hooke, Team Leader, Program Director for Weather
Research, Office of Atmospheric Research, Silver Spring, Maryland
Christine Alex, Meteorologist, Office of Meteorology , National
Weather Service Headquarters, Silver Spring, Maryland
Aris Georgakakos, Professor of Engineering, Georgia Institute
of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia (independent consultant)
Anton Haffer, Meteorologist in Charge/Area Manager, NEXRAD
National Weather Service Forecast Office, Phoenix, Arizona
Edwin May, Deputy Regional Hydrologist, Hydrologic Services
Division, Southern Region Headquarters , National
Weather Service, Fort Worth, Texas
Debra Van Demark, Technical Leader, Hydrologist, Office
of Hydrology, National Weather Service Headquarters, Silver
Spring, Maryland
Background and overview information on the hydrologic situation,
which appears in Chapter 1 , was
contributed by Scott Kroczynski of the Hydrologic
Information Center, Office of Hydrology, Silver Spring, Maryland.
Graphics support was provided by Paul Hrebanach of the Office
of Hydrology. Descriptions of the meteorological conditions and
forecasts, which are presented in Chapter
2 , were contributed by Bruce Terry of the Meteorological
Operations Division, National Meteorological Center, Camp Springs,
Maryland, and Edward Rappaport of the National Hurricane Center
, Coral Gables, Florida. Debra Anderson, Program Assistant in
the Office of Hydrology, edited and formatted this report into
a camera-ready document for publication.
The team was divided into two groups during parts of the survey
so that the wide geographic area of impact could be covered efficiently.
One group, composed of Alex, Georgakakos, and May, traveled through
Georgia and the eastern portion of the Florida Panhandle. The
other group, composed of Haffer, Hooke, and Van Demark, concentrated
on Alabama and the western portion of the Florida Panhandle. During
the week, the two teams coordinated their progress by meetings
and telephone calls. The survey team conducted its field work
on Monday, July 18, through Friday, July 22, 1994. The entire
survey team met in Atlanta, Georgia, on Saturday, July 23, 1994.
The consensus of the survey team was that overall NOAA provided
good, high-quality services throughout this event. The report
discusses successful features of NOAA's services program, as well
as recommendations for areas needing improvement.
William H. Hooke Team Leader
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