Jackson, Mississippi, residents are preparing for significant flooding that could affect hundreds of homes as the Pearl River is expected to overflow its banks.
Locals are already loading up on sandbags or fleeing their houses to stay in shelters after the mayor of Jackson pleaded with them to “get out immediately” since the region is in danger of flooding due to the predicted severe rain.
According to experts, the Pearl River will crest on Monday at 35.5 feet (10.8 metres), and the city anticipates that 100 to 150 homes may be under water by Monday night.
“If you are able to leave right away, do so. On the same day Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves issued a state of emergency, Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba urged residents to leave as soon as possible at a press conference on Saturday.
Residents in Jackson remember how the Pearl River rose to 36.7 feet (11.2 metres) two years ago as a result of days of heavy rains, and houses in the most damaged areas of Jackson were flooded with filthy, snake-infested water.
Residents are taking preparations now out of concern for a repeat calamity, and the Red Cross has prepared a temporary shelter at the Jackson Police Department Training Academy.
Some Jacksonians were packing up their belongings and leaving their homes. Some people were stockpiling sandbags. In anticipation of floods, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency had placed 126,000 sandbags to serve as water barriers.
“We encourage them to get out and be prayerful that the worst does not occur,” Mayor Lumumba told CNN on Sunday. We don’t want to take a chance on anything happening and them being in their houses at the time.
‘Unfortunately since we have witnessed similar occurrences as recently as 2020, we have a reference point, and we know the harm that may occur,’ he added, adding that inhabitants should evacuate the city “as quickly as possible.”
Lumumba said, “If we endanger the life of one person, that’s one person too many.” “Over the previous three days, there has been a constant downpour that has engulfed our inhabitants.”
Jackson homeowners began sandbag preparations sooner than in 2020, according to Oscar Day, an inventory control worker at a sandbag delivery location.
Day told The Associated Press on Sunday that many locals who neglected to take safeguards two years ago “caught the heat last time.”
On Monday, there will be showers and thunderstorms that may persist into the evening, according to the National Weather Service in Jackson.
Red Cross volunteer Linda Gagliardi, who is now serving in Huntsville, Alabama, advised people to create a plan and be prepared to escape at a moment’s notice. And I believe that’s what people are hoping for—that instantaneous decision.
After Kentucky citizens were victimised by wreckage and tragedy last month, the floods from the Mississippi come. At least 39 people died as a result of the floods, and hundreds more families lost all they had.
Residents are still debating whether to rebuild where they now call home or relocate after almost a month has passed.
Although there is no mandatory evacuation order in place in Jackson, authorities have warned that those who decide to remain home run the danger of having to fend for themselves.
By Sunday afternoon, according to a Ridgeland police officer patrolling the grounds of the Harbor Pines Mobile Home Community, just 20% of the residents had left.
If you remain here and get stuck, we may or might not be able to come and rescue you, the man said.