The four-hour session at The Forum will focus on upstream reservoirs at Lake Allatoona and Carters Lake which, between them, impound more than 16,000 acres of water.
“Bartow, Gordon, Floyd and Murray counties could be affected by any problems with the dams,” said Scotty Hancock, director of the Floyd County Emergency Management Agency.
Presentations are scheduled from experts with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, National Weather Service and U.S. Geological Survey. The group also will tour the Rome levee system and flood-prone areas of the city.
Public input sought
In a separate event on Monday, the Floyd County EMA will host a public information session on the county’s disaster mitigation plan. The meeting starts at 6 p.m. in the Oostanaula Room of the Floyd County Library.
Unlike a response plan, which spells out ways to deal with hazardous situations, a mitigation plan looks at how to prevent the situations.
“This is the ‘let’s try to keep something bad from happening’ plan,” Hancock said.
A state grant paid for the year-long study in which officials identified potential local hazards and ranked them in the order they should be addressed. Flood-prone areas may need larger drainage pipes, for example, and residences particularly vulnerable to thunderstorms and high winds could benefit from weather radios.
“Now we want public input,” Hancock said. “People who have lived here for years may be aware of situations we’re not.”
Hancock said the mitigation plan also is a factor in state and federal grant awards.
Officials review the effectiveness of local plans when considering whether to fund special programs or equipment purchases.
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