Montezuma, Georgia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Montezuma is a city in Macon County, Georgia,ZIP code 31063. The population was 3,999 at the 2000 census. It is home to the armory of Bravo Company, 648th Engineers of the Georgia Army National Guard.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Historical Tragedies
4 Educational Information
5 External links

[edit] Geography

Montezuma is located at 32°18′10″N, 84°1′38″W (32.302789, -84.027352)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.7 km² (4.5 mi²). 11.7 km² (4.5 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.66%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 3,999 people, 1,501 households, and 1,050 families residing in the city. The population density was 343.1/km² (887.9/mi²). There were 1,673 housing units at an average density of 143.5/km² (371.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 28.03% White, 69.84% African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.38% Asian, 0.70% from other races, and 0.85% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.40% of the population.

There were 1,501 households out of which 34.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.7% were married couples living together, 29.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.0% were non-families. 27.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.20.

In the city the population was spread out with 29.1% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 81.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 74.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $23,022, and the median income for a family was $27,469. Males had a median income of $26,226 versus $16,995 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,168. About 21.8% of families and 25.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 45.1% of those under age 18 and 17.1% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Historical Tragedies

The Great Flood Of 94' Source: [1]

The first week of July will mark the ten-year anniversary of Tropical Storm Alberto's devastating floods in Georgia. Areas of west Georgia were particularly hard hit, with three-day rainfall amounts in excess of 21 inches producing over $750 million in damage and contributing to 33 deaths.

Tropical Storm Alberto originated in Senegal, near the west coast of Africa, on June 18, 1994 as a tropical wave. The system became Tropical Depression One on June 30, 1994. On July 2, 1994 the depression strengthened in the Gulf of Mexico near the Yucatan Peninsula to become Tropical Storm Alberto. When the center made landfall near Destin, Florida, on July 3, Alberto was at its peak intensity with 65 mph winds. Alberto quickly weakened to a tropical depression again. After landfall, the motion of the storm slowed and precipitation increased. The storm moved slowly through Alabama into Georgia, stalling just south of Atlanta. Over the next few days it reversed its course and then looped back on its previous course before ultimately dissipating.

During the period of July 3-6 of 1994, Alberto dumped copious amounts of rain across the area. The heaviest rainfall was south of a Carrollton to Atlanta line and west of an Atlanta to Macon to Cordele line. The greatest rainfall in Middle Georgia fell in a band from Peachtree City south to Americus. Rainfall amounts of 12 to 24 inches were common in this stretch. Rainfall amounts as high as 21.1 inches in 24 hours were observed at Americus, Georgia with storm totals at Americus of 27.61 inches.

This rainfall produced record and near-record flooding along the Flint, Ocmulgee and Chattahoochee Rivers. In Middle Georgia, the worst-hit cities were Macon and Montezuma. In Macon, parts of downtown were flooded and the water supply was lost for many days as flooding inundated the water plant. In Montezuma, flood waters topped the levee and flooded much of downtown. Overall, flash flooding and flooding caused by the rainfall from Alberto took 33 lives, destroyed thousands of homes, including entire communities, forced approximately 50,000 people to be evacuated, and caused property damage estimated at $750 million. Approximately two-thirds of the deaths were related to vehicular incidents.

The Weather Forecast Offices and the Southeast River Forecast Center of the National Weather Service (NWS) played critical roles in getting the word out to the record crests that were expected. Peak flood stages from Alberto in the NWS Peachtree City's area of responsibility were:

River Location Alberto Record (feet) Old Record (feet) Flint Culloden 45.73 38.40 (3/5/1929) Flint Montezuma 34.11 27.40 (3/17/1929) Ocmulgee Macon 35.30 29.83 (3/19/1990) Ocmulgee Hawkinsville 40.91 36.50 (1/21/1925) Ocmulgee Abbeville 23.10 20.30 (1/23/1925) Ocmulgee Lumber City 24.59 26.30 (1/21/1925)

There have been significant advances in NWS hydrologic programs in the last ten years. New technologies which have improved flood warnings and forecast operations in Georgia include the Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service (AHPS), the Site Specific Hydrologic Model, multi-sensor rainfall estimates, Flash Flood Monitoring Program (FFMP), and NWS Hydrologic Forecasting System (WHFS).

The Advance Hydrologic Prediction Service is the NWS's frontline solution to provide improved river and flood forecasting and water information across the United States. AHPS builds upon the NWS's long history of around-the-clock forecasting excellence by bridging to new sciences and technologies. AHPS includes state-of-the-science forecasting tools covering flash floods on small streams to long-range forecasts for floods in larger rivers. AHPS can be seen on our website by going to weather.gov and clicking on Georgia. Select "Lakes&Rivers – AHPS" on the left menu.

The Site Specific Model is a hydrologic model run at local NWS offices. This model allows local NWS offices to improve forecasts on smaller streams and creeks mainly associated with flash floods or shorter-duration floods. The NWS office in Peachtree City is leading the way with over a dozen specific forecast points now provided. New sites are being added when needed by local communities. Recently, for example, a new forecast point was added to the Etowah River near Dawsonville, Georgia at the request of Forsyth County emergency management officials.

Multi-sensor rainfall is now being used to produce many of the hydrologic forecasts in Georgia. In the past, the NWS either rainfall from rain gauges alone or from radar estimates. Today, we combine rainfall estimates from the NWS WSR-88D radar with rainfall gauge data provided by NWS observers and automated NWS and USGS sites. This high-quality rainfall estimate from multiple sources is being used by our Site Specific Model in Georgia.

Another tool added to our flood detection arsenal is called the Flash Flood Monitoring Program. This tool allows local NWS meteorologists and hydrologists to get a better handle on flash floods. This tool combines high resolution rainfall estimates from the WSR-88D Doppler radar with small hydrologic basins in Georgia. The result is the ability to issue flash flood warnings for counties, and naming specific creeks that will be affected. In addition, this tool allows for earlier and better detection of floods by keeping forecasters alert to fast changes within individual creeks. The benefits of this were seen during the 2003 floods in Georgia. Prior to 2003, the NWS in Peachtree City detected 70% of flash floods with a false alarm rate around 50%. In 2003, our detection of flash floods improved to about 80% while our false alarm rate dropped to 20% due, in large part, to the new technologies.

The last tool for NWS meteorologists and hydrologists to use is called the hydrologic forecast system. This tool allows forecasters to be alerted whenever a river or stream is approaching flood stage. In the past, flood warnings were issued by doing a lot of typing. Now, we can issue these warnings quickly because most of the work is done by our high technology computer systems.

Finally, the National Weather Service has launched a campaign called, "Turn Around Don't Drown (TADD)". This is to discourage citizens who see flooded roadways or bridges from crossing them. It is better to turn around and take a different and safer route.

Since flooding is the number one storm-related killer, the NWS is committed to continued improvements to detection of floods and flash floods.

[edit] Educational Information

There are 2 schools in the Montezuma, Ga which have a combined architecture sharing only the lunching facility ( Macon County Middle & High) and 1 in Olgethorpe, Ga (Macon County Elementary. Their are 2,026 students enrolled in the Macon County school systems as of July 31, 2006. Macon County Elementary School has 979 students enrolled, Macon County Middle School has 447 students enrolled, and Macon County High School has 600 students enrolled. As all schools in the State of Georgia are required to meet--did not meet AYP (Annual Yearly Progress) for the 2006 seniors but met it the previous year with the 2005 seniors. AYP under NCLB is more stringent than AYP under previous ESEA laws. AYP now requires schools to meet criteria in three areas: Test Participation (for both Mathematics and Reading/English Language Arts), Academic Performance (for both Mathematics and Reading/English Language Arts), and a Second Indicator. update coming soon