Desoto flooding prompts state to declare emergency
Some evacuated in county
Rain that moved through DeSoto County on Thursday — causing flooded streets, some evacuations and even a closing — spurred an emergency declaration from Gov. Phil Bryant.
Late Thursday afternoon, Bryant issued the declaration, which clears the way for the use of additional state resources.
“I have been in contact with MEMA Director Robert Latham, and he is on his way to DeSoto County to assess the situation,” Bryant said in a statement.
County supervisors had earlier in the day issued a local state of emergency.
The governor said flooding was primarily in Southaven and Horn Lake, along the county’s northern border with Memphis.
The National Weather Service reported that 5 to 7 inches of rain fell in DeSoto County over a 12hour period.
A county emergency shelter was set up in cooperation with the American Red Cross at Brown Missionary Baptist Church in Southaven.
No injuries were reported, but some residents of Savannah Creek apartments in Southaven were evacuated and taken to a shelter set up at the city’s Fire Station No. 3 on Elmore Road.
“The water was four to five feet
high, and we got the residents out of the first-floor apartments,” said Southaven Police Chief Tom Long.
The city’s Fire Department and the Coast Guard used boats to move the residents.
The majority of flooding in Southaven was at Savannah Creek and in the Plum Point subdivision off Elmore and Nail roads in the southeastern section of the city.
Melaine Childress had just returned home to her Savannah Creek apartment when the rain came fast and hard.
“I was trying to rent a house for my family, but it was already rented,” said Childress, one of about 50 residents evacuated. “So when I got back to my apartment, I sat in the car because it was raining so hard. When the water started rising and came up to my window, I opened the window and started swimming.”
She made it to her firstfloor apartment, which she described as “a lake” when she opened the door.
Southaven Mayor Darren Musselwhite met with evacuated families. By late afternoon, the mayor had signed a proclamation declaring a local state of emergency in the city.
“We are making sure our residents are taken care of,” Musselwhite said. “We are continuously monitoring the situation.”
In Horn Lake, City Administrator Andrea Freeze said several streets were closed in the DeSoto Village area near City Hall at Goodman and Tulane roads.
Alderman Charlie Roberts reported his house was flooded, with 4 inches of water at the doorway.
Delta Technical College in Horn Lake closed Thursday because of flooding.
DeSoto County Schools officials ran buses for afternoon pickup as scheduled, but they warned parents to pick up their children if they knew streets in their area would not be accessible by buses.