After helplessly watching the Pearl River rise, flooded Marion County residents are now seeing it recede, although the slow drop has delayed homeowners and emergency personnel from getting in to assess the damage.
On Sunday the river crested at 25.6 feet, which is some 8.5 feet above flood stage and the highest level recorded since 1983.
All along the river homes were affected by the backwaters. Marion County Emergency Management Director Aaron Greer said Tuesday they were unable to determine how many homes had been flooded because the water was still too high to reach certain places.
The river was at 24.7 feet as of Tuesday afternoon, and the U.S. Geological Survey predicted it to fall to 20 feet by the close of the weekend.
Malary White, a spokesman for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, said Tuesday that they did not expect to be able to get in to assess damage until next week. She said local officials were estimating roughly 300 homes were affected by the flooding.
One of them belonged to Shawn Williams, who lives on Washington Street, which is near Dean Griner and the Columbia Water Park. He said Saturday morning there were already 4 inches of water inside of his house as he gathered some essentials to go stay with friends until the water receded.
On Monday Williams was back at his home. The water in his front yard had gone down, but it was still lapping against the sides of the house. He said they hadn't gone inside yet to see if there was any water still standing there.
“I'm getting ready to go get a couple boats and come back and get some stuff,” he said.
Some people living near the river stayed at their homes in hopes the water would not get high enough. On Saturday the Columbia Police Department, Marion County Sheriff’s Office and Foxworth and Columbia fire departments worked together on a water rescue on Dean Griner Drive. Using Foxworth’s high water vehicle, they were able to rescue eight individuals and several dogs and some other animals.
In the early hours on Monday morning, another rescue was made from Dean Griner Drive. At 12:53 a.m. a call came in stating a couple was trapped due to the rising water. Tri-Community, Foxworth, South Marion and Southwest Marion assisted with the evacuation. The scene was cleared at 2:17 a.m.
Jeremy and Crystal Carter live in River View Estates off of Mississippi 43 south of Columbia. They chose to stay in their home, which is situated high on stilts. He said the biggest problem they had besides the rising water was getting their electric meter moved higher up on the pole.
“On Friday they came and we all got into a boat and from in the boat they moved the meter up,” he said.
John Sigman, general manager of the Ross Barnett Reservoir north of Jackson, said they've been gradually reducing the amount of water they release and plan to continue to do so. For example, on Tuesday the reservoir was releasing 24,000 cubic feet per second and planned to drop that figure to 20,000 on Wednesday and 16,000 on Thursday.
Sigman added that there are a lot of other contributors to the amount of water flowing down the Pearl at Columbia. The flow was 80,000 cubic feet per second at Columbia as of Tuesday versus just 24,000 being released from the reservoir. The difference comes from areas south of Jackson that also flow into the Pearl. Rain increases those flows, but Sigman said the forecast called for clear skies for the next six days from Tuesday.
In Marion County, the roads that remained impassible as of Tuesday included Mississippi 587 between Morgantown and Foxworth, Mississippi 43 south of Columbia and Dean Griner Drive and Old Foxworth Road in Columbia.
Greer said Civil Defense has distributed more than 3,100 sand bags to help combat the flooding.
On Saturday the Red Cross set up a shelter at New Life Fellowship Church on Eagle Day Drive for flood victims. Angela McLaughlin with the Red Cross said Monday one person had stayed there, while others had come in and out for food and cleaning supplies. The shelter closed at noon Tuesday because of a lack of use, White said, noting that the same thing happened in Jackson as most flood victims stayed with family and friends.
Chief Deputy Jamie Singley with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said in light of the situation he was pleased with how it went.
“A lot of first responders and volunteers came out and were ready with whatever equipment or assistance was needed,” he said.
Columbia Police Chief Michael Kelly echoed those sentiments.
“We were as prepared as we could be. We stayed in touch with the National Weather Service and Emergency Management to be prepare," Kelly said. "Everyone came together different departments and we were able to handle whatever came at us very well. Special thank you to Mike Lowery and Columbia’s Walmart for the donation of food and supplies."
