Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves has declared a state of emergency amid predictions that a river running in the area around the state capital of Jackson could burst its banks and spark widespread flooding.
“I cannot stress to you how important the next 24 to 48 hours is for the people who are going to be affected,” Reeves said.
He signed an emergency declaration to speed up spending for flood response and recovery. More than 96,000 sandbags had already been distributed by Saturday. The National Guard, the Highway Patrol and other high-water rescue teams were on standby, Reeves said.
Meanwhile, the Ross Barnett Reservoir is approaching capacity, which led officials to announce that they would begin slowly releasing water at 6 p.m. Saturday. WLBT-TV reported the move is an attempt to keep flooding to a minimum downstream, and to allow extra time for residents to get to higher ground.
John Sigman, manager of the Pearl River Water Supply District, had a phone conference with the National Weather Service and the Army Corp of Engineers on Friday. They said that areas north of the main lake have crested and were beginning to fall and described that as good news. The crest at the reservoir is now expected Sunday morning. Officials told the television station they are holding their outflow right now at 65,000 cubic feet per second and will hold there for 48 hours, giving people downstream time to get out.
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