Hundreds unable to return to flooded Mississippi homes
JACKSON, Miss. — The swollen Pearl River appeared to have crested Monday in Mississippi’s capital, but authorities warned the hundreds of evacuees in the Jackson area not to rush back home until they got the all clear, and a forecast of more rain put counties farther south at risk of flooding.
No injuries were reported from the major flooding in central Mississippi and southern Tennessee. But as the high water recedes, officials expect to find damaged roads and problems with water and sewage pipes. In Savannah, Tenn., two houses slid down a muddy bluff into the Tennessee River, although its residents had fled earlier.
“Please do not move back into your neighborhood or into your home until authorities and officials give you the OK to do so,” Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said at a news conference.
A near-record rainy winter has forced authorities to release water from swollen reservoirs, potentially worsening the flooding for those living downstream.
“It is a chess match we’re playing with Mother Nature,” said Jim Hopson, spokesman for the Tennessee Valley Authority.
The Pearl River appeared to crest at just under 37 feet, Mr. Reeves said. It is forecast to fall below major flood stage at 36 feet around midnight Tuesday, although more problems could arise if rains in the next few days are heavier than forecast.
“We as a state are not in the clear yet,” Mr. Reeves said.
The Pearl’s highest recorded crest was 43.2 feet on April 17, 1979. The secondhighest level occurred May 5, 1983, when the river rose to 39.58 feet.
Mr. Reeves thanked residents for heeding evacuation orders. Only 16 searchand-rescue missions were needed, he said, even though as many as 1,000 homes were flooded.
The momentary break in the rain enabled water levels at the Barnett Reservoir upriver of the capital to stabilize, but officials repeated their warnings to pay attention to evacuation orders, check on road closures before traveling and stay off any flooded roads.
Mississippi emergency management officials said Sunday that they had received preliminary damage reports from 11 counties connected with the severe weather that began Feb. 10.
River gauges in four states from South Carolina west to Mississippi are reporting moderate flooding, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Forecasters predict more rain across the Southeast this week. It shouldn’t be as heavy as previous weeks, but with lakes and reservoirs nearing capacity, it won’t take a deluge to require authorities to release more water.
The Pickwick is the nextto-last dam in the TVA’s system, and all the water from a river basin stretching into Virginia and Georgia has to flow through it before reaching the Ohio River and then the Mississippi. Water levels behind upstream tributary dams used to contain the flooding have risen as much as 40 feet this month, but even then, the Pickwick was releasing 2.36 million gallons per second Monday, the TVA’s Mr. Hopson said.