Not actually making light of this tremendous tragedy, my hometown of Austell was hardest hit. FYI, Georgia receives $1.01 for every dollar they pay in federal taxes. Colorado receives 81 cents. The top three states that receive federal money are New Mexico, Mississippi and Alaska, $2.03, $2.02 and $1.84 respectively. Governor Perdue of Georgia is a Republican, but most Republicans down there drink lots of the Libertarian Kool-Aid. Housing down there is pretty cheap by Denver standards, so $250 million is pretty substantial.

 "Gov. Sonny Perdue of Georgia declared a state of emergency in 17 counties and pleaded for federal aid, offering his appeal directly to President Obama on Tuesday night. The state insurance commissioner estimated that $250 million worth of damage had been done, mostly to homeowners without insurance."

ATLANTA — The death toll from the floods in Georgia rose to nine people as the waters continued to recede on Wednesday, and residents grappled with the damage that has destroyed their homes, uprooted their lives and shut down bridges and major roadways around the Atlanta area.

Another body was found Tuesday evening in hardest-hit Douglas County. Richard Butler, 29, was swept from his car and died, like the other five victims from the county, as a result of flash-flooding, said Wes Tallon, the spokesman for the county’s emergency management agency.

In the county, about 23 miles west of the city, people were lining up for bottled water while the authorities checked abandoned cars for bodies and swept debris to clear streets.

Continued at the NY Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/24/us/24rain.html?hp