ALBANY, Ga. — President Clinton pledged relief funds to flood-ravaged areas of southern Georgia Wednesday as his Administration also proposed new flood-control measures aimed at accommodating rather than dominating nature.

The new federal policies, if approved by Congress and carried out by the states, would accomplish a sharp break with two centuries of federal flood-control efforts. Instead of relying primarily on dikes, dams and levees to keep rivers in their places, the government would emphasize keeping people out of the way of floodwaters.

The policies would do so by restoring wetlands, encouraging homes and businesses to move out of flood plains and requiring those who do build in flood-prone areas to buy expensive insurance and reduce future relief costs.

Clinton, on a one-day visit to tour waterlogged areas of Georgia, promised quick federal assistance for flood victims in Georgia, Alabama and Florida, a minimum of $60 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the departments of Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Agriculture and Labor.

The President said more money would be released once the floodwaters recede and a full accounting of the damage can be made.

"The most important thing is to help people put their lives back together," he said after his tour. "This is a very serious disaster."

The proposed policies could have an impact on flood-control planning and river-side development across the nation, including parts of Southern California. Some of the programs, including one that encourages farmers to return filled-in wetlands to their natural state, are already in place, although their funding has been in question.

Other proposals would require congressional action, including one to reactivate a "water resources council" to coordinate federal and state policies and those of Native American tribes. If more people in flood zones are to be encouraged to buy flood insurance, as recommended, state and federal governments will have to work cooperatively with private insurance firms.

The proposals are part of the report of an interagency task force that Clinton created after last summer's devastating floods in the Midwest. Those floods caused more than $12 billion in damage and 38 deaths.

This summer, heavy rains following Tropical Storm Alberto have covered parts of Georgia, Alabama and Florida and have destroyed millions of dollars worth of property, forced tens of thousands of people from their homes and killed more than two dozen people.