Toccoa Flood

November 6, 1977

Kelly Barnes Dam, located above the Toccoa Falls Bible College near Toccoa, Georgia, failed in the early morning hours of November 6, 1977. Thirty-nine people died in the resulting flood, which inundated part of the campus including a trailer park.

To mark the 25th anniversary of the failure of Kelly Barnes dam and the subsequent flood, the U.S. Geological Survey is making available two historical reports on the flood and an album of photos of the disaster.

• Kelly Barnes Dam Flood of November 6, 1977, near Toccoa, Georgia: U.S. Geological Survey Hydrologic Investigations Atlas HA-613, by C.L. Sanders and V.B. Sauer, 1979
• Report of Failure of Kelly Barnes Dam and Findings: Federal Investigative Board, 1977
• Photo album. Some additional photographs are included in the Federal Investigative Board report.

• NOAA Photo Library
  • Twisted remains of a vehicle and other debris following a flash flood
  • Trailer, vehicle, and utility pole in jumbled pile following a flash flood
• Brief description of the flood in Summary of Significant Floods in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, 1970 Through 1989: USGS Water Supply Paper 2502
• The book Dam Break in Georgia: Sadness and Joy at Toccoa Falls by K. Neill Foster with Eric Mills (1978, Horizon House Publishers, 159 p.) tells the stories of many of the flood victims.

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