Flood Damage Restoration in Atlanta, GA, From Peachtree Creek to the Basement

When Peachtree Creek passes 17 feet at Northside Drive, the National Weather Service expects Woodward Way to be under water. At 20 feet it expects water inside homes. This page is built on those gauge readings: where Atlanta floods and at what level, what the two big floods of recent memory did, and what cleanup involves once creek water or storm runoff has been through a ground floor or a basement.

Water Damage Services Atlanta is a free referral service that connects callers with independent local flood cleanup providers. It is not a restoration contractor. Calling the number on this page puts you in touch with a local provider, and that provider handles the assessment, the estimate and the work. There is more on how this free service works.

Three things to do before anything else

• Stay out of standing water where the power may still be on. CDC guidance is to switch off the main power only if the panel can be reached from a dry place, and to call an electrician if reaching it means stepping into water. For a basement, FEMA’s fact sheet says to mark the breakers that feed it and shut that power off before going down.
• Do not wade into floodwater. Ready.gov warns that it can be contaminated and can hide dangerous debris. The National Weather Service says not to enter a flood-damaged building until authorities give the all clear.
• Keep children and pets away from flood and sewage water. That is EPA’s instruction in its flood cleanup guidance. If you smell gas, CDC says to close the main gas valve, open the windows and leave the house at once.

Where Atlanta floods: the gauges and the streets

Atlanta has no coastline and no big river running through its center. It floods along creeks. The City’s floodplain page lists the streams that drain it: Long Island Creek, Nancy Creek, Peachtree Creek with its North and South forks, Proctor Creek, Utoy Creek, Camp Creek and Sandy Creek on the Chattahoochee side, and Intrenchment Creek, Sugar Creek, the South River and the Flint River on the other.

The National Weather Service keeps a flood stage for the gauges on several of them, and for some it publishes impact statements that name the streets expected to flood at each level. Those statements are the most specific public record of where water goes in this city. The live readings are on the NWS page for the Peachtree Creek gauge.

Peachtree Creek at Northside Drive

This is the gauge Atlanta watches. NWS sets flood stage at 17 feet, moderate flooding at 18 feet and major flooding at 20 feet. The record is 25.8 feet on December 9, 1919, followed by 23.7 feet on September 22, 2009 and 23.51 feet on September 27, 2024.

Creek level	What NWS says happens
15 feet	Backyards on sections of Hanover West Drive begin to flood.
17 feet (flood stage)	Woodward Way is impassable under 1 to 4 feet of water and front yards flood. Atlanta Memorial Park and large parts of the Bobby Jones and Cross Creek golf courses go under. Backyards on portions of Peachtree Battle Avenue take 1 to 2 feet.
18 feet (moderate)	A parking lot near the corner of Peachtree Road and Fairhaven Circle begins to flood.
19 feet	About a foot of water is in some homes that have not been elevated.
20 feet (major)	Water enters homes and businesses along Peachtree Park Drive, Peachtree Memorial Drive and the Colonial Homes apartments. Homes that are not elevated take up to 2 feet along Woodward Way, Sagamore Drive, Peachtree Battle Avenue and Circle, Hanover West Drive, Bohler Road and Battleview Drive.
24 feet	A massive flood similar to September 2009, with numerous evacuations and several feet of water in homes, businesses and apartments.

Flood stage here is not a once-in-a-generation event. The NWS record lists ten crests above 17 feet between December 2018 and February 2025, and only one of those years, 2022, has none. Four of the ten came in December or January, one in February and one in March, so this is not only a tropical storm problem.

Date	Peachtree Creek crest
December 28, 2018	19.21 feet
April 19, 2019	18.08 feet
September 17, 2020	19.06 feet
October 11, 2020	20.16 feet
December 30, 2021	17.72 feet
January 4, 2023	18.03 feet
January 9, 2024	17.27 feet
March 6, 2024	17.54 feet
September 27, 2024	23.51 feet
February 13, 2025	17.81 feet

The January 9, 2024 crest shows how quickly the creek can respond. Atlanta set a daily rainfall record of 2.75 inches that day, according to NWS, and the creek crested above flood stage the same day. NOAA’s 1991 to 2020 normals put Atlanta at 50.43 inches of precipitation in an average year, spread across the calendar: January averages 4.59 inches and March 4.68, close behind July, the wettest month, at 4.75.

The U.S. Geological Survey, which has measured the creek at or near Northside Drive since 1958, gives one reason it rises so fast. It puts the normal base-flow stage at about 3 feet and notes that the large amount of impervious surface in the watershed can influence flooding. Rain that lands on roofs, roads and parking lots reaches the channel quickly.

Nancy Creek

At the West Wesley Road gauge, flood stage is 12 feet, moderate flooding 16 and major flooding 20. The three highest crests on record are 25.46 feet on September 22, 2009, 22.42 feet on September 27, 2024 and 21.34 feet on September 17, 2004. At 20 feet NWS says some homes on Nancy Creek Road, Albemarle Drive, Ridge Valley Court and Ridgewood Circle begin to flood.

Farther up the same creek, at the Rickenbacker Drive gauge, flood stage is 11 feet. NWS says that at 12 feet water begins to enter the crawl spaces and walkout basements of homes on East Powder Horn Road and Hitching Post Trail, about 1.5 miles upstream of the gauge. The record there is 15.5 feet, set on December 1, 1973.

The Chattahoochee River at Paces Ferry Road

At the Paces Ferry Road gauge the river floods at 14 feet, with moderate flooding at 18 and major flooding at 20. The record is 29 feet on December 10, 1919. The September 2009 flood reached 28.12 feet on September 22, and Helene brought 23.75 feet on September 27, 2024. NWS says that at flood stage portions of an athletic field at the Lovett School are under about a foot of water, and that some buildings on that campus flood at about 28 feet.

Proctor Creek, the South River and Intrenchment Creek

Peachtree and Nancy creeks are not the only ones with a gauge and a flood stage. On Proctor Creek at Jackson Parkway, flood stage is 13 feet, and at 18 feet NWS says a few homes on Delray Drive, Ferno Drive, Glenlocke Circle, Besto Drive and Argyle Drive begin to flood. EPA describes Proctor Creek as plagued by pollution, erosion and high bacteria levels from regular stormwater flooding and sewage overflows, which matters for anyone cleaning up after it.

The South River at Bouldercrest Road has a 15-foot flood stage. Its highest crest on record had been 11.88 feet, on March 16, 1976, until Helene pushed it to 16.01 feet on September 27, 2024. Intrenchment Creek at Constitution Road floods at 11 feet and holds a record of 14.23 feet from September 16, 2004. At 16 feet NWS says about two feet of water covers parts of Constitution Road.

NWS gauge	Flood stage	Highest crests on record
Peachtree Creek at Northside Drive	17 feet	25.8 feet (December 9, 1919), 23.7 feet (September 22, 2009), 23.51 feet (September 27, 2024)
Nancy Creek at West Wesley Road	12 feet	25.46 feet (September 22, 2009), 22.42 feet (September 27, 2024)
Nancy Creek at Rickenbacker Drive	11 feet	15.5 feet (December 1, 1973)
Chattahoochee River at Paces Ferry Road	14 feet	29 feet (December 10, 1919), 28.12 feet (September 22, 2009)
Proctor Creek at Jackson Parkway	13 feet	18.03 feet (March 13, 1975)
South Fork Peachtree Creek at Johnson Road	13 feet	16.53 feet (September 27, 2024)
North Fork Peachtree Creek at Buford Highway	13 feet	18.57 feet (September 21, 2009), 18.42 feet (September 27, 2024)
South River at Bouldercrest Road	15 feet	16.01 feet (September 27, 2024)
Intrenchment Creek at Constitution Road	11 feet	14.23 feet (September 16, 2004)

September 2009 and Helene

Two dates sit at or near the top of most of the gauge records above. The first is the flood of September 2009. The National Weather Service account dates it to September 15 to 22, 2009, and says that at its height, on September 20 and 21, an estimated 10 to 20 inches of rain fell in less than 24 hours.

NWS counts more than 20,000 homes, businesses and other buildings in Georgia with major damage, 16,981 of them residences, and 10 Georgia residents killed. The damage totals depend on who is counting: NWS puts Georgia property damage at an estimated $500 million, raised from a first estimate of $250 million, while a USGS fact sheet says damages exceeded $193 million. USGS called the floods in the Atlanta area extremely rare and said the Chattahoochee gauge at Vinings reached its highest level in 81 years. The federal disaster declaration, FEMA DR-1858-GA, came on September 24, 2009.

The second date is September 27, 2024. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Atlanta recorded 11.12 inches of rain in 48 hours as Hurricane Helene came through, breaking a record of 9.59 inches set in 1886. NWS logged 7.62 inches on September 27 alone and 12.29 inches for the month, the third wettest September on record against a normal of 3.82 inches.

Peachtree Creek crested at 23.51 feet, within a few inches of its 2009 mark. South Fork Peachtree Creek set a new record of 16.53 feet at Johnson Road, and the South River set its record the same day. Mayor Andre Dickens said crews made about 20 rescues, some by boat, and Fox 5 Atlanta placed rescues on Hanover West Drive near Peachtree Creek and on Bohler Road: two of the streets in the NWS 20-foot statement.

Georgia’s state climatologist rated the Atlanta-area rain as somewhere between a 1-in-200-year and a 1-in-500-year storm, WABE reported, and said it was made worse because steady rain that began on September 25 had already saturated the ground. FEMA DR-4830-GA was declared on September 30, 2024. All of this happened a long way from a coast: Georgia Public Broadcasting noted in 2017, when Irma brought Atlanta its first tropical storm warning, that the city is more than 250 miles inland.

The first day, in order

What follows comes from federal and state guidance, not from this site. A provider you are connected with will have its own sequence once it has seen the building, but these steps belong to the owner and most of them cannot wait.

1. Tell the insurer and take pictures first. The joint guide from CDC, EPA, FEMA, HUD and NIH puts this ahead of cleanup: contact the insurance company and photograph the home and belongings. For a flood claim, FEMA asks for photos and video of damaged property plus the make, model and serial number of appliances and electronics.
2. Air the house out. CDC says a house that has been closed up for several days after flooding should be opened and left to air for at least 30 minutes before anyone stays inside.
3. Get the power checked. CDC says an electrician should check the electrical system of a flooded home before the power is turned back on.
4. Dress for it. The minimum gear the federal guide gives for handling wet or moldy materials is an N-95 respirator, goggles and protective gloves. CDC adds rubber boots for anyone who has to step into floodwater.
5. Keep engines outside. EPA says fuel-powered generators give off deadly carbon monoxide and must run outdoors, at least 20 feet from buildings, never in a home, garage or shed. OSHA notes that gasoline and diesel pumps and pressure washers used in flood cleanup release carbon monoxide as well.
6. Leave the heating and cooling off if water reached it. EPA says a system touched by flood water must not be used to help dry the house.
7. Move what can be moved. FEMA’s brochure says to take wet furniture, rugs, bedding and toys out of the wet area.

If the water is still standing and the need is to get it out, the emergency water removal in Atlanta page covers extraction in houses, condos and high-rises. The CDC’s page on re-entering a flooded home is the fullest official checklist.

Flood water is not clean water

The restoration trade sorts water into three categories under its S500 standard, and the category decides what gets dried and what gets thrown out. Category 1 is water from a sanitary source, such as a supply line. Category 3 is grossly contaminated water that can cause severe adverse health effects if touched or swallowed. General summaries of the standard name rising water from rivers or streams, along with sewage, as typical Category 3 sources.

CDC’s list of what floodwater can carry explains why: human and livestock waste, household, medical and industrial hazardous waste, and downed power lines. The illnesses and injuries it links to exposure are wound infections, skin rash, gastrointestinal illness and tetanus. EPA says any cut or scrape that touches flood water should be washed and disinfected immediately.

This changes the job. EPA’s table on what can be dried and kept after water damage applies to clean water only. For floodwater, CDC says drywall and insulation that were contaminated are removed and discarded, not dried in place. A supply line that fails inside the house is a different kind of loss, covered on the burst pipe water damage in Atlanta page.

Not every storm loss is Category 3. In March 2026 the S500 Consensus Body said that rain driven in from above and other weather-related water is not Category 3 by default, and that the category has to rest on the conditions actually found. A ceiling stained by a roof leak in the same storm is a repair question, handled on the water damage repair in Atlanta page.

Water in an Atlanta basement or crawl space

The lowest level of a house is the first to take water. The NWS statement for the Nancy Creek gauge at Rickenbacker Drive says as much: at 12 feet, water begins to enter the crawl spaces and walkout basements of homes upstream. Cleanup below the first floor has rules of its own.

That warning carries weight in Atlanta after a long rain. Before Helene’s heaviest bands arrived, the state climatologist said, steady rain had already saturated the ground. Soaked soil holds water against a foundation long after the creek has dropped, which is why a provider may pump a deep basement in stages.

Work out where the water came from, because it changes who to call and what the cleanup involves. Water that rose through a floor drain may be sewage, not creek water. The City describes the sewer cleanout as a direct access point to the sewer drain and says that in homes built within the last 45 years it is usually near the front of the house, under the basement floor where the drain leaves the building. A backup through that line is a different job, covered on the sewage cleanup in Atlanta page.

Crawl spaces dry slowly because air does not move through them. The flood clean-up field guide that the Georgia Department of Public Health links to says a flooded crawl space has to be opened to air, with openings at opposite ends, for the house above it to dry. University of Georgia Extension’s moisture checklist calls for a 6 to 8 mil plastic vapor barrier over the soil, and DPH lists ventilating or dehumidifying crawl spaces and basements among its mold prevention steps.

What restoration involves after a flood

Every provider works its own way and gives its own scope after seeing the building. The outline below is how flood restoration generally runs, with the published guidance behind each stage, so you know what to ask about.

1. Assessment. The provider looks at how high the water reached, what it carried and which materials are wet. Water and mold are often out of sight: federal guidance names the space under or behind carpet and walls, and FEMA adds air ducts, attics, basements and wall cavities.
2. Pumping and extraction. Standing water comes out first, slowly in a deep basement for the reason FEMA gives above. CDC names wet-dry vacuums, electric transfer pumps and sump pumps as the equipment, once an electrician has cleared the power.
3. Removing what cannot be saved. FEMA’s brochure says soaked wallboard is cut out to one foot above the water mark and discarded, the cut restorers call a flood cut. It also says all wet insulation comes out, and that only rigid insulation can be disinfected, dried and put back.
4. Cleaning, then disinfecting. The order matters. FEMA says disinfectants are meant for surfaces that have already been cleaned.
5. Drying. FEMA names fans and dehumidifiers as the drying equipment, with one exception: fans are not used once mold has started, because they can spread it.
6. Monitoring. Moisture readings are taken in the framing and other materials as they dry. The field guide DPH links to treats wood studs and framing as dry once their moisture content is below 15 percent.
7. Repairs. Rebuilding waits until the structure is dry. FEMA recommends rebuilding flood-prone areas with water-resistant materials such as tile, stone, sealed concrete and waterproof wallboard.

On drywall height, the DPH-linked guide adds a practical point: where the water or mold damage is less than four feet up the wall, it may be cheaper to remove drywall up to the four-foot line, the edge of a standard sheet. What goes back afterward, from walls to floors, is the subject of the water damage repair in Atlanta page.

What can be saved

The federal rule of thumb for flood-wet belongings is short: anything that cannot be cleaned and completely dried within 24 to 48 hours is thrown away. The table shows how the published guidance applies it.

Item	What the guidance says	Source
Drywall and insulation reached by floodwater	Removed and discarded, not dried in place	CDC
Carpet, pad and rugs	A carpet or rug that cannot be thoroughly dried and cleaned after flood contamination is discarded and replaced; the subfloor beneath is cleaned and dried either way	EPA
Mattresses, pillows and upholstered furniture	On CDC’s list of things to throw away because they cannot be cleaned or dried quickly	CDC
Books and wall coverings	On the same CDC list	CDC
Furniture made of pressed particle material	Classed as porous, with upholstery and bedding: when in doubt, throw it out	FEMA
Solid wood furniture and other hard surfaces	Listed with the washable hard surfaces: cleaned, then disinfected	FEMA
Hardwood floors	Moisture removed immediately, then dried with dehumidifiers, gentle heat and fans, with caution about heat. EPA wrote this for clean water; after floodwater the provider judges it on site	EPA

Before anything leaves the house, think about the claim. For a flood claim FEMA says to keep samples of damaged carpet, flooring and curtains, and that items posing a health risk can be thrown away once they are documented. The FloodSmart claim page lists what an adjuster will want to see.

How soon mold follows flood water

FEMA’s figure is that mold colonies can start to grow on a damp surface within 24 to 48 hours. The joint federal guide goes further for flooded homes: one that was not dried within 24 to 48 hours should be assumed to have mold growth. After a creek flood, when the power may be out and roads closed, that window can pass before any drying has begun.

Opening the windows is not always the answer. FEMA’s brochure says to open the house to outside air when the humidity outdoors is lower than indoors, and in Atlanta that is not a given: averages for 1961 to 1990, as tabulated by Current Results, put the city’s relative humidity at 82 percent at 7 am and 52 percent at 4 pm. A flood policy will not pay for mold either: FloodSmart says NFIP policies do not cover damage from mold, so the policyholder is expected to do everything possible to stop it growing and spreading. What happens once mold is established is covered on the mold remediation in Atlanta page.

Flood insurance for an Atlanta address

The first money question after a flood usually has an unwelcome answer. The City of Atlanta warns owners that most homeowner insurance policies do not cover flood damage from storms. Georgia’s Office of Commissioner of Insurance says a standard homeowners policy covers damage from high winds and tornadoes but not from flooding, and that flood cover is a separate policy bought through the National Flood Insurance Program.

The Insurance Information Institute gives a rule of thumb for telling the two apart on a claim: water that comes from the top down, such as rainfall and burst sprinklers, is generally covered by a standard homeowners policy, while water that rises from the ground up is a flood policy matter. The sample homeowners form the institute publishes spells out the exclusion in three parts: flood and surface water, water that backs up through sewers or drains, and water below ground that seeps through a foundation. Your own policy may be worded differently, so read it or ask your agent.

FloodSmart, FEMA’s flood insurance site, describes the terms of an NFIP policy as follows. Check FloodSmart or an insurance agent for the program’s current status and terms before relying on them.

• Coverage takes effect 30 days after the date of purchase. The wait does not apply when the policy is bought while making, increasing, extending or renewing a mortgage, and it is one day for a property newly mapped into a high-risk zone if the policy is bought within 12 months of the map change.
• The limits for a home are $250,000 for the building and $100,000 for contents, bought as two separate coverages.
• It does not pay for temporary housing or additional living expenses during repairs.
• It does not cover personal property kept in a basement.
• It does not cover damage from mold.

Some owners have no choice. Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division says owners of property in a Special Flood Hazard Area in a participating community must buy flood insurance if they have a mortgage from a federally regulated or insured lender. Atlanta takes part in the program, and the City’s floodplain page describes it as a Class 7 community in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which the City says gives a 15 percent discount on the typical cost of flood insurance.

FEMA’s own numbers after Helene give a sense of how few flood claims there were. In a release dated May 6, 2025 it said it had paid more than $26.3 million in flood insurance claims to more than 460 policyholders in Georgia, while federal assistance and low-interest loans had gone to more than 399,300 Georgia households. Those are statewide figures for Helene damage of every kind, not only flooding, and FEMA gives no percentage of homes insured. If a claim dispute cannot be settled with the insurer, the Office of Commissioner of Insurance takes complaints.

Is your address in a flood zone, and what the City requires

The City defines the Special Flood Hazard Area as the high-risk area covered by the 1 percent annual chance flood. To look up a property it points owners to the Georgia Flood Map Program or the FEMA Map Service Center. Georgia EPD, which is responsible for the state’s flood hazard maps, offers a property-specific flood risk snapshot at georgiadfirm.com.

The answer matters for the repair as well as the insurance. The City says all work proposed inside a designated flood hazard area needs a permit, and that this covers any update, renovation or repair to a structure there. Property questions go to the Floodplain Administrator in the Department of Watershed Management, whose contact details are on the City’s floodplain management page.

The same article of the code sets the bar for structures that have to be elevated or flood protected. Its standards put the lowest floor at the greater of three feet above the base flood elevation or two feet above the highest observed flood. Permit rules for ordinary repairs outside the floodplain are a separate matter, covered on the water damage repair in Atlanta page.

Storm drains, the City and your lot

Not all flood water comes from a creek. When a street drain backs up or a culvert overflows, the first question is whose pipe it is. The City says it maintains stormwater infrastructure that lies in its right-of-way along municipal roads, that has been formally deeded to and accepted by the City, or that sits on City property. Other parts of the drainage system are the responsibility of private property owners or homeowners’ associations. Drainage problems are reported by dialing 311 inside the city.

The City has also built places for the water to go. In 2002 heavy rain from Tropical Storm Hanna caused a major flood in Vine City, west of downtown, and the City went on to buy out 60 properties on a 16-acre parcel. That land is now Rodney Cook Sr. Park, opened in 2021, whose pond and surrounding greenspace can hold up to 10 million gallons of stormwater runoff, according to the Atlanta Regional Commission. On the BeltLine, the 2-acre lake at the center of Historic Fourth Ward Park doubles as a stormwater retention basin.

Cost, and choosing who does the work

Water Damage Services Atlanta sets no prices and cannot quote one. The estimate comes from the provider after it has seen the building, and it turns on how high the water rose, what it carried, how much has to come out and whether the basement is finished. The figures below are published estimates from cost guides, given with their dates, and are not quotes from this site or from any provider.

What	Published figure	Source
Flooded basement, Atlanta	$500 to $10,000 or more	homeyou, page dated September 27, 2026
Category 3 (black water) cleanup, national	About $7.50 per square foot	HomeAdvisor, updated June 17, 2026
Category 1 (clean water) cleanup, national	About $3.50 per square foot	HomeAdvisor, updated June 17, 2026
Water damage restoration, national	Average $3,868; most homeowners spent $1,383 to $6,369 in 2025	HomeAdvisor, updated June 17, 2026

After a big storm, the people offering to do the work are not all local or legitimate. The Georgia Attorney General’s storm alerts tell homeowners to avoid door-to-door offers of repair work, and warn against any contractor who asks for full payment up front, takes only cash or refuses to give a written contract. The same office says an offer to pay your insurance deductible can be the sign of a scam.

Georgia’s price gouging law applies during a state of emergency declared by the Governor, and only to the goods and services the Governor identifies. It was invoked for Helene. The Attorney General’s office also says general contractors, electricians, plumbers and heating and air conditioning contractors must be licensed in Georgia, while roofers, painters, drywall contractors and repair handymen are not required to hold a state license. Ask any provider which license applies to the work it proposes, and for proof of insurance, before work starts. The water damage restoration in Atlanta homepage explains those checks, and the Atlanta neighborhoods covered page lists where the service connects callers.

Questions people ask