AUSTELL - Cobb received heavy rain on Saturday that drenched the area, already recovering from destructive flooding from earlier in the week.

The only reported flooding was at Nickajack Creek near Mableton. The National Weather service said the creek had reached 10.2 feet and was slowly rising Saturday night. However, the water was expected to recede. The flood stage for the creek is 10 feet.

The weather service reported that 1.87 inches of rain fell in Marietta on Saturday. Rain was expected to continue into the night. A flash flood warning was issued for all of Cobb until 9:30 p.m. Saturday.

Georgia Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine on Saturday raised the estimated cost of damage caused by heavy flooding in parts of north Georgia to $500 million. The new figure was twice as much as his initial damage estimate of $250 million on Tuesday.

"I think it could quite possibly go up," Oxendine said, adding that the estimate of half a billion dollars was conservative.

Oxendine said 20,000 homes and other structures suffered major damage, mainly in the area north and west of Atlanta.

The Georgia Emergency Management Agency reported Saturday that the state received approval from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to include nine counties for public assistance in the recent federal disaster declaration.

Cobb, Carroll, Catoosa, Chattooga, Douglas, Gwinnett, Paulding, Stephens and Walker counties are now eligible for public assistance, GEMA reported.

The assistance provides funding on a cost-sharing basis to local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations for the repair or replacement of damaged roads, dams, bridges, water treatment facilities, publicly-owned utilities and other types of infrastructure.

FEMA also approved three additional counties for individual assistance, Bartow, Coweta and Heard.

The list of disaster declared counties for individual assistance now includes: Bartow, Carroll, Catoosa, Chattooga, Cherokee, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fulton, Gwinnett, Heard, Newton, Paulding, Rockdale, Stephens and Walker.

As rain spread across Cobb on Saturday, Austell Mayor Joe Jerkins said more water was the last thing his city needed. He estimated that 500 homes had received extensive flood damage, including his daughter's. In his nearly 20 years as mayor, Jerkins called the flooding the worst event in the city's history.

However, Jerkins said there were no reports of additional flooding in Austell on Saturday. He said Sweetwater Creek, which runs around the city, would be able to take no more than 4-inches of rainfall. He estimated that Austell received between 1.5- and 2-inches on Saturday.

"The creek has gone down. If it rains 4-inches it won't hurt us," Jerkins said.

On Saturday afternoon, Selvon Julien was working at Kinks Salon and Barber off Veterans Memorial Highway in Austell. He said he "lost everything" when his Deerfield subdivision home flooded earlier in the week. He and his family are now living inside the salon in the meantime, he said.

"The rivers had no where to go. The city was not equipped for that," he said. "But, I think they will be next time because they realize they have a serious problem on their hands."

Powder Springs Mayor Pat Vaughn said Saturday evening that her city had so far managed to avoid flooding. But, the sight of people attempting to salvage their homes this weekend, as more rain added to their burden, was heartbreaking, she said.

"It is so sad. It's devastating to see it," Vaughn said. "When you ride through and they have all their belonging by the curb."

Dolores Kindley of Austell was one of those people. Her house at Edith Street and Windy Lane received more than 4-feet of water from rainfall earlier this week. She had no flood insurance. On Saturday, family and friends were helping her to clean up and salvage what she could as it rained.

"She's basically homeless," said her boyfriend, Jerry Health.

However, Warren Bolds Jr. of Austell, was on hand to lend some assistance. He said he was riding around and saw that help was needed. His experience as a New Orleans resident during Hurricane Katrina made him more aware of such things, he said.