“If predictions prove accurate, the Pearl River is expected to crest on Monday, August 29th, at 36 feet,” Reeves said in the declaration.
A flood stage 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.
“The state of Mississippi is as prepared as possible for this flooding. My administration, including MEMA, is monitoring this situation closely, and actively working to respond as quickly as possible to ongoing developments with flooding,” Reeves said.
Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba has called for voluntary evacuations in areas expected to be affected by the rising waters, while Reeves warned, “If your home flooded in 2020, there is a high (probability) it will happen again.”
State emergency management officials have already begun assessing water levels along the Pearl River and have deployed more than 100,000 sandbags, according to the declaration.
Barnett Reservoir General Manager John Sigmund cautioned about rising waters ahead of the crest as the water is expected to steadily rise, before slowly falling.
“It looks like we’re gonna be in the floodwaters that we’re seeing even today, probably well into the end of the week with then a gradual recession after that,” Sigmund said.
The threat for heavy rainfall will be very localized Saturday, but much of the region has seen excessive rain over the past week, so it will not take much additional rainfall to aggravate any ongoing flooding.
Widespread rainfall of 1 to 2 inches is forecast across much of the region but some locations — including along the immediate Gulf Coast and across Florida — could see as much as 2 to 4 inches of rain through Monday. The Florida peninsula will likely see the heaviest amounts of rainfall through the weekend.
Sigmund said the scattered and isolated rain during the week across the region is not expected to have significant impact on water levels in Mississippi.