The southern Appalachians have had a long history of destructive flash floods, including 2024’s Helene disaster.
On Nov. 5, 1977, 48 years ago today, heavy rain moved into northern Georgia.
Around 1:30 a.m. on Nov. 6, an earthen dam collapsed, sending a wave of water through Toccoa Falls, Georgia.
Three were killed when the flood plunged through a steep ravine into Toccoa Falls Bible College. Another 36 people died when a downstream trailer park was wiped out.
Two hours before the failure, volunteer firefighters inspected the Kelly Barnes Dam, but didn’t find anything to raise alarm.
Today, that dam would have been classified as a “high hazard” dam. Following the disaster, President Jimmy Carter approved funding for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to conduct inspections of high risk dams.
A memorial to those killed lies on the campus of Toccoa Falls College.
Glenn Schwartz via NOAA
Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at weather.com and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him on Bluesky, X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.
