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Former Bibb County EMA director Johnny Wingers dies at 84

Johnny Wingers led Bibb County through the Flood of '94 and the 2008 Mother's Day Tornado. He stepped down in 2009.

MACON, Ga. — Bibb County's long-time Emergency Management Director Johnny Wingers has died at age 84, Bibb County Coroner Leon Jones said.

Wingers died on Monday at his home, Jones said.

During his tenure at the helm of the EMA, he oversaw the preparation and recovery from the Flood of '94 and the Mother's Day tornado that hit Macon in 2009.

The flood of '94 — a core memory for many Central Georgians — put much of Bibb County underwater, according to previous coverage.

The flood killed two people in Bibb County, who were pulled into the Ocmulgee River. It was only 14 months after he became the EMA director and he said that he knew the situation was serious when the water plants went under. 

"FEMA was bringing bottled water in. We set up 26 distribution points around, all around Macon. And the firemen, all of them at the fire stations, people outside holding water out, people drive by and pick up a gallon of water," Wingers said.

There were 150,000 people without drinking water, so the EMA team had to step up and provide water to the community. They brought in military troops and other Maconites also stepped up to the plate to help. 

He stepped down shortly after his 70th birthday. He became EMA director around 1993.

Macon Memorial Park Funeral Home takes charge of arrangements.

To read more about the Flood of '94 and Winger's response to it, you can click here. You can also watch our special coverage in the video below. 

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