April 19 and the days and weeks directly after were challenging for a portion of the LaGrange and Troup County communities as a result of the flooding that took place then. Some are still dealing with the aftermath of one of the most destructive floods the county has ever seen. In some portions of the county, primarily in the southeastern corner, it has been recognized as the flood of record. When  acts of nature bombard any area, the reaction by individuals directly after can make a significant difference on the long-term impact of the damage. In Troup County, law enforcement officials and emergency responders responded in the best possible fashion.

During the flood, 28 county roads were flooded, 13 of which experienced damage. Four of those damaged roads simply saw fallen trees and were easily repaired, which left nine county roads with significant damage. Of those nine, Wright Road, Bill Taylor Road, South Thompson Road and Cook Road all suffered total failures in places. The pictures from these total failures have been a sight to behold, these roads are impassable where those failures occurred.

Of those four total failures, the designs for the replacements have been approved for three of the four roads, with the approval of the fourth design likely coming soon.

The amount of rain that was received and reported varied significantly, with 6 to 8 inches of rain coming in some areas of the county on the day of the flood.

While the county has seen flooding in the past and has dealt with severe weather many times over, every event is different, requiring different responses. County Engineer James Emery and the entirety of responding officers have worked hard and tirelessly to ensure the inevitable flood damage has been held in check, as much as it could have been.

“I thank God that no one was injured or killed in this flood,” Emery said on Thursday. “They could have been.”

Events of nature such as the one that occurred in April in the county need to be taken seriously, and those that responded to last month’s flooding should be recognized and thanked for their ongoing efforts.