Mississippi Braces For More Rain As Hundreds Of Homes Flooded In Jackson Area

Mississippi Braces For More Rain As Hundreds Of Homes Flooded In Jackson Area·HuffPost
Dominique Mosbergen
2 min read
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Mississippi is bracing for more rain and potentially more flooding following a “long weekend” for the state which saw heavy downpours and rising floodwaters, culminating Monday in the cresting of the Pearl River.

“It goes without saying that it has been a long weekend for Mississippi as floodwaters have continued to rise at the Pearl River and around central Mississippi,” Gov. Tate Reeves said, according to NBC News on Tuesday.

Monday’s cresting of the Pearl River — the river’s third-highest crest on record at 36.8 feet — flooded hundreds of homes in the Jackson area, The Clarion-Ledger reported.

The exact number of impacted homes are as yet unknown but the paper said 1,000 or more residences were potentially affected. Officials have urged thousands of residents to evacuate the area.

“It’s just a helpless feeling,” Patrick Crews, whose neighborhood was flooded, told NBC News. “You can’t really do anything. You want to be around, but you can’t stop the water.”

Reeves, who over the weekend declared a state of emergency as floodwaters rose, warned Mississippians on Monday that the state was still expecting more rain to fall this week ― and was “not in the clear yet.”

“Do not walk or drive through floodwaters. Turn around, don’t drown. If you were told to evacuate, please heed these orders and do not return until officials have told you it’s safe,” the governor said at a press conference.

As NPR noted, a flash flood warning is in effect in the central Mississippi area until Wednesday.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.

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