The Mississippi’s Pearl River is expected to crest lower, as the mayor of Mississippi’s biggest city has urged residents to “get out now” on Saturday as record-setting rain threatens to flood streets and creep into homes within the next two days, CNN reports.
According to the report, authorities earlier predicted Mississippi’s Pearl River to reach 36 feet and crest by Tuesday due to the rain, but the river is now expected to crest late Sunday through Monday evening before slowly lowering.
Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba told CNN on Sunday people should leave the city “as soon as possible,” saying he was worried of a repeat of the damaging February 2020 flooding.
“Unfortunately because we have seen these events as recently as 2020, we have a reference point, and we know the damage that can occur,” he said.
“If we risk the life of one individual, that’s one individual too many,” Lumumba said. “Our residents have been inundated with persistent rain over the last few days.”
A flood stage in the city is considered “major” at 26 feet. The current flood warning says dozens of additional streets in downtown Jackson will flood at 34 feet, with water close to entering homes in Northeast Jackson at 35.8 feet.
“We are expecting waters to begin to impact neighbourhoods as early as Sunday evening,” Lumumba said Saturday, adding as many as 150 homes are expected to be affected by the flooding.
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves declared a state of emergency Saturday due to the rising river waters and urged residents to remain calm. The state has already begun assessing water levels along the river using drones and deployed more than 100,000 sandbags, according to the declaration.
“The state of Mississippi is as prepared as possible for this flooding,” Reeves said. “My administration, including (Mississippi Emergency Management Agency), is monitoring this situation closely, and actively working to respond as quickly as possible to ongoing developments with flooding.”