The earthen dam above beautiful Toccoa Falls had been
taken for granted for most of its 40 years. Through other winter
and spring rains that came annually to the North Georgia Mountains, the
tree-covered dam had held firm.
About 1:30 a.m. Sunday, November 6, 1977, after two days of torrential
rains, the dam started to leak. Groaning under to pressure of 129
million gallons of water, the leak became a breach, and the dam washed
away, sending a 30-foot wall of water roaring through the college
campus in the valley below.
Sometime after midnight, Eldon Elsberry, Ron Ginther, Bill Ehrensberger
and David Fledderjohann, started knocking on the doors of trailers to
warn residents of the rising waters. Only Elsberry and Ginther
would survive the night.
With a crashing sound like a thunderstorm, a wedge-shaped wall of water
some 30 feet high poured down the creek and shot over Toccoa Falls,
tumbling huge boulders and tree trunks before it.
The footbridge at the base of the falls vanished, as did the road that
leads down the shoulder of the campus and across the creek to some
recreational buildings.
Just past the road, the creek makes a sharp left turn. On the
outside of the bend sits Forrest Hall, the windows of its basement
rooms facing the stream.
In the basement, three young men died. One drowned in his room
when the water crashed in; two others were sucked out into the torrent.
Sweeping past Forrest Hall, the water churned through several houses,
moved slightly to the right, or south, and washed headlong into
Trailerville.
In a few horrifying minutes, at least [39] men, women, and children died in the onslaught of rushing water, wreckage and mud.
It was the highway bridge, straddling the creek just below the
hospital, which contained the flood and kept if from wreaking havoc the
length of the creek, Corps of Engineers workers said.
Debris piled up against the bridge, created a small dam, slowing the
onrushing tide. Groups of volunteers from neighboring Georgia counties
began arriving at the bridge to give assistance. The Toccoa
rescue squad had been joined by the Toccoa Civil Air Patrol and members
of the local civil defense office.
The process of moving survivors out of the area had almost been
completed by daylight. Early in the morning unceasing offers of help
began, as did the search for the missing.
By 3 p.m., November 7, 1977, Mrs. Carter arrived to tour the disaster
area and visit with survivors in the hospital and on campus.
This is a record of Gods faithfulness, in darkness and
dawn. This is a testimony of peoples responses to
tragedy. How can I help? was a question asked over and
over. The spontaneous responses of people to open their homes,
their pocketbooks, and their hearts to the needs of those at Toccoa
Falls blessed and humbled the recipients deeply.
Over all of the events shone most clearly the fact that God was in
control. To hold back the waters would have been no great thing
for so great a God. It was in allowing the waters to be released
that His greatness was revealed, through the faithfulness and
testimonies of his children. As one survivor explained, "We know
that God was with us through the flood. He was with those of us
who escaped. He was with the 39 people who died. Because of
the flood we know that God will be with us through anything we ever
have to face.
Source:
Toccoa Falls College. Through Darkness and Dawn.
