As many Jackson residents face the prospect of their homes and businesses flooding with the Pearl River now projected to crest 36 feet by Monday, officials are urging people to evacuate from low-lying flood-prone areas as soon as possible. .
The benchmark, officials say, is areas that were inundated during a similar flood along the Pearl River in Jackson in 2020.
Governor Tate Reeves declared a state of emergency for the affected areas and the areas affected by flash flooding earlier this week during a press conference on Saturday.
How to prepare before a flood
- Collect important documents, records and valuable items and move them to a safe place.
- Gather important insurance documents
- Take photos of valuable items for insurance records.
Below are helpful tips from the Red Cross for people living in flood-prone areas. Those tips and more can be found here.
Prepare in advance
Protecting your family
- Talk to your family about what to do if a flood watch or warning is issued. Talking about flooding in advance helps reduce fear, especially in younger children.
- Make sure each member of your family carries a Safe and Well pocket card.
- Make sure you have access to NOAA radio broadcasts:
- Find a NOAA radio station online
- Search for a NOAA radio app in the Apple Store or Google Play
- Buy a NOAA battery-powered or hand-crank radio at the Red Cross store
- Find out if you are in a floodplain, which is considered a special flood hazard area. If so, you are still eligible for flood insurance. Check with your city or county government (start with the Building or Planning Department) to review the Flood Insurance Rate Maps, published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
- Find out if local streams or rivers flood easily.
- Keep insurance policies, documents and other valuables in a safe deposit box. You may need quick and easy access to these documents. Keep them in a safe place so they don’t get damaged during a flood. Take pictures on a phone and save copies of important documents and files to a USB stick that you can carry with you on your car or home keys.
Protecting your pets and animals
- Prepare a pet emergency kit for your companion animals.
- Make sure any outbuildings, pastures, or corrals are protected in the same way as your home.
- If you install or change fence lines, consider placing them in such a way that your animals can move to higher ground in the event of a flood.
Protecting your home
- If you live in a floodplain, elevate and brace your home so it is less likely to be damaged during a flood.
- Consult a professional to:
- Elevate your furnace, water heater, and electrical panel to floors that are less likely to flood. A well-maintained hot water heater can be your best source of fresh water after a flood.
- Install check valves on pipes to prevent flood water from backing up into your home’s drains. (As a last resort, when floods threaten, use corks or large plugs to stop up showers, tubs, or sinks.)
- Build barriers such as levees, berms, and flood walls to prevent flood water from entering the building (if allowed by local building codes).
- Seal basement walls with waterproofing compounds to prevent seepage through cracks.
- Use sandbags when flooding is expected:
- It takes two people about an hour to fill and place 100 sandbags, creating a wall one foot high and 20 feet long.
- Make sure you have enough sand, burlap or plastic bags, shovels, strong helpers, and time to set them up correctly.
- If flooding is expected, some communities will offer free sandbags to residents. Be sure to watch or listen to the news so you can access these resources.
- Remember: standard homeowners insurance doesn’t cover flooding, but flood insurance does. Get information at www.FloodSmart.gov.
sandbags available
- Sandbags are available now at 4225 Michael Avalon Street in Jackson until 5 p.m. today and will be available for pick-up on Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
shelters
- A shelter for those fleeing the flooding is open at the Jackson Police Academy at 3000 St. Charles Street. The city will open another shelter and announce it as needed.
school buses
- Jackson Public Schools expects there to be some disruption to school buses in the coming days, but they won’t know until they know the exact locations of flooding. They urged parents and students to be aware of any updates as they come.
How to get help, information
- Jackson officials say that if someone has problems with mobility or transportation getting out of their home due to possible flooding, they should call 311 as soon as possible. If residents are unable to reach 311, the city advises them to call the Jackson Police Department’s non-emergency number at 601-960-1234 or the Hinds County Emergency Operations Center at 601-968. -6771. These numbers are available 24 hours a day.
What areas are in Jackson’s voluntary evacuation order?
- Any area near the Pearl River
- Upper Northeast Jackson
- westbrook road
- River Road
- S. West Street Area
- high tower community
- Silas Brown Street
Jackson neighborhoods are hardest hit by flooding:
- Belhaven
- amateur
- presidential hills
- City center
- Hemingway Circle
- Big house
- Choctaw Road off of State Street
The city’s main streams are also particularly prone to flooding:
- hanging moss
- purple creek
- city creek
- Eubanks Creek
Pearl River at 34 feet
- City Garage Area on S. Jefferson Street
- eastern area
- Foxboro Street
- Galilee Street
- Martin and Hinds Streets
- Old Brandon Trail
- President Street – south end
- sydney street
- South West Street – Union Planters
- South West Street – Randy’s Upholstery Parking Lot
- Rosemary Road east of Terry Road
- Riverwood Drive – east of Harrow Drive
- Westbrook Road – east of Sedgewick Drive
- cassava unit
Pearl River at 35 feet
- annie street
- beasley street
- City Garage Area on S. Jefferson Street
- cypress road
- deer trail
- eastern area
- Foxboro Street
- Galilee Street
- Greenwood Avenue at Hardy Creek
- Hudson Street – east end
- Martin and Hinds Streets
- McNuitt Street
- Nichols Street
- offutt street
- Old Brandon Trail
- President Street from South Silas Brown Street – south end
- river creek area
- glenn river area
- north river road
- Riverwood/Harrow Drives
- Rollingwood at Yucca Drive – south end
- Rosemary Road east of Terry Road
- sydney street
- South West Street – Union Planters
- South West Street – Randy’s Upholstery Parking Lot
- Westbrook Road – east of Sedgewick Drive
- cassava unit
Pearl River at 37 feet
- annie street
- beasley street
- Beatty & Rankin Streets at Silas Brown Street
- canterbury court
- Canton Club Circle on Sedgewick Drive
- Canton Club Circle – extreme northeast
- City Garage Area on S. Jefferson Street
- Congress Street
- cypress road
- deer trail
- Dunbarton Drive – west end
- eastern area
- Foxboro Street
- Galilee Street
- Greenwood Avenue at Hardy Creek
- harrow unit
- hinds street
- Hudson Street – east end
- juliana street
- Linde Air Trailer Cutaway
- Martin and Hinds Streets
- McNuitt Street
- Meadow Oaks Park Drive
- Moncure Highway
- Nichols Street
- offutt street
- Old Brandon Trail
- President Street from South Silas Brown Street – south end
- Street Ranking
- river creek area
- glenn river area
- north river road
- Riverwood/Harrow Drives
- Rollingwood South
- Rollingwood at Yucca Drive – south end
- Rosemary Road east of Terry Road
- Circle of Santa Clara
- Sedgewick Drive and Canton Club Circle
- sydney street
- Silas Brown between Congress and West Streets
- South West Street – Union Planters
- South West Street – Randy’s Upholstery Parking Lot
- sproles street
- state street
- Stokes Robinson Street
- Twin Lakes Circle at Greenbriar and Pebble Lanes.
- Westbrook Road – east of Sedgewick Drive
- Village Park Mobile Homes
- cassava unit
