Mississippi and Tennessee are getting hit hard this week with flooding. The Pearl River crested yesterday in Jackson at 36.7 feet, reaching 8 feet above flood stage. Authorities are still trying to determine the extent of the damage and warn that people should continue to say alert.
"We as a state are not in the clear yet," Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said in a news conference. "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 region is expecting up to 2 more inches of rain and a flash flood warning will remain in effect until Wednesday morning. "Rainfall totals for all of this week may be in the neighborhood of 1-5 inches," AccuWeather meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said. "The past 10 days have brought 5-7 inches of rain in the area."
The National Weather Service reported, "These rains will be falling across areas of the South that are experiencing historic flooding, exacerbating these flooding conditions. Drier weather is likely Wednesday across the hardest-hit flooding regions of Mississippi, but additional rains may push back into this region late Wednesday night into Thursday."
Mississippi’s capital has already received 19.9 inches of rain this year, breaking the record of the greatest year-to-date rainfall, following the Capital Weather Gang said.
Teams in Mississippi have conducted 16 search-and-rescue operations since the beginning of the flooding. Governor Reeves urges residents to continue listening to evacuation updates in order to assure everyone’s safety.
It is estimated that up to 1,000 homes in central Mississippi had been flooded.
