5 years later: Victims remember massive flooding in Austell

ATLANTA — September 21 marks the 5-year anniversary of the epic floods that hit metro Atlanta. Ten people died in the flooding and 20,000 homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed.
 
Cobb, Douglas and Paulding counties were ground zero for the heaviest rainfall that sent creeks to unprecedented levels.  
 
Severe Weather Team 2 Meteorologist Katie Walls wrote her college thesis on flooding and took a look back at what happened through the words of survivors.
 
"Trailers had flooded before, we knew it was going to happen again," said Clarkdale Elementary School teacher Lisa Whitfield.
 
On Sept. 21, 2009, Noses Creek in Austell breached its banks and flooded the 13 trailers and the building that made up the school. Only the school's roof was above water.
 
Whitfield was one of the heroic teachers who helped evacuate the 450 students that day.
 
"They said, 'Kindergarten' -- each grade level had a bus -- and they said, 'Kindergarten, come get on your bus.'  They were going to do it very systematically.  But after kindergarten, they said, 'Everyone evacuate,'" Whitfield said.
 
The teachers were able to get all the children out and safe to nearby facilities.  Many Clarkdale Elementary students lost their homes that day, and their school.
 
"We had no idea (it was going to be that bad)," Whitfield said. "We thought, well, it's going to take some cleaning up here."

A vacant lot is all that is left of the original school. A bigger and newer school is about one mile away on Ewing Road.   
 
Whitfield and other faculty wore T-shirts with the word "Survivor" on them to commemorate the 5-year anniversary.
 
"We survived it. We preserved and we are still going strong,"  she said.
 
The storm brought great joy and great sadness for Crystal Cordell and her family. Her family's business, Ty Bolts on Cousins Street in Austell, was flooded by Sweetwater Creek.
 
In the midst of it all, a pregnant Cordell went into labor.
 
"We're walking through this literal storm and all this destruction and then we realized God was winking at us. There was a reason I had to go into labor at such a time," Cordell said.
 
She said her daughter, Sara Jane, helped them entire family deal with the emotions of the material losses. Her family did not have flood insurance, and state and federal aid took longer than expected.
 
"Praise God that they didn't lose their business, and even without any assistance they were able to do what they needed to do and they're still going strong today," Cordell added.
 
Typically, Sweetwater Creek is up to three feet deep, but on September 22, 2009, it crested at a record-shattering 30.8 feet.  That sent water spilling onto Interstate 20, flooding businesses from Austell to Lithia Springs in Douglas County.
 
Randall Maxwell showed Walls how high the water was at his 18-acre business, the Classic Paintball and Pro Shop.
 
"We were at about five and a half foot," Maxwell said. "The whole store had to be gutted. All the flooring, counters, electrical, walls had to be torn out, redone and re-inspected so we could reopen."
 
It took four weeks, $25,000 and countless volunteers to get the business back open and running.

"We hope it never happens again."

WSBTV