By Stephanie SchupskaUniversity ofGeorgiaHeavy rain plus more heavy rain usually equals flooding. That’sjust what Hurricane Dennis brought to Georgia on July 10. Andflooding was just one of many problems.”A large part of the problem, particularly across north Georgia,is the fact that the area got inundated a few days earlier byCindy,” said state climatologist David Stooksbury. “There was notmuch buffering left in the system. Once it started raining, thewater didn’t have many places left to go.”The flooding was bad. On July 13, Gov. Sonny Perdue requesteddisaster assistance from the Small Business Administration forCherokee, Cobb, Colquitt, Douglas and Worth counties due toDennis’ impact. The assistance, if approved, would providelow-interest loans to homeowners, renters and businesses.”State and local emergency management assessment teams havereported that many homes and businesses have sustainedsignificant damage,” Perdue said in a press release. “We hope tomake this assistance available as soon as possible.”There’s moreWhile the SBA loans may be offered to those affected in thesefive counties, Dennis’ effects weren’t limited to homes andbusinesses. So far, Georgia crops most damaged include pecans,peaches, corn, hay, vegetables and tobacco, Perdue said.Georgia Pecan Commission chairman Charles “Buddy” Leger, who isalso a south Georgia grower, said he lost 5 percent to 10 percentof this year’s crop “because, at this stage, when the wind whipsthe limbs around, the nuts will come off.”But Leger has seen worse from tropical storms. “Last year we hada direct hit,” he said. “This year we were on the fringe.Basically, all we got was water and wind.”PeachesWhipping winds sent peach limbs swinging, too, puncturing thefruit. But that’s only a part of this year’s peach crop woes.”Peaches have been hit hard all year,” said Frank FunderburkPeach County coordinator with the University of Georgia ExtensionService. “All year long we’ve had rain, and disease problems havebeen worse than normal.”Peach County is Georgia’s top peach-producing county. Mostlybecause of heavy spring rains, growers there have “had increaseddiseases on varieties we didn’t suspect would have disease,”Funderburk said.Dennis hit the state’s watermelon and cantaloupe crops, too.If the state meets the minimum criteria for disaster aid, Perduewill ask the U.S. Department of Agriculture for assistance.While this hurricane season has been predicted to be more activethan last year’s, “we can’t read any more into it,” Stooksburysaid. “It’s abnormal to have this many tropical storms this earlyin the season. Abnormal events do occur, though.”(Stephanie Schupska is a news editor with the University ofGeorgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.)
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