It is not too late to prepare for flooding. Here's what to do.

Staff Reports
·7 min read
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As many Jackson residents are facing the possibility that their homes and businesses may flood with the Pearl River now projected to crest at 36 feet by Monday, officials are urging people to evacuate as soon as possible from low-lying flood-prone areas.

The benchmark, officials say, is areas that flooded during a similar flood along the Pearl River in Jackson in 2020.

Gov. Tate Reeves declared a state of emergency for the affected areas and areas impacted by flash flooding earlier this week during a Saturday press conference.

How to Prepare Before a Flood

  • Collect important documents, records and valuable items and to move them to a safe place.

  • Gather important insurance documents

  • Take photographs of valuable items for insurance records.

Below are helpful tips from the Red Cross for people who live in flood-prone areas. Those tips and more can be found here.

Prepare in Advance

Protecting Your Family

  • Talk with your family about what to do if a flood watch or warning is issued. Discussing floods ahead of time helps reduce fear, especially for younger children.

  • Ensure that every member of your family carries a Safe and Well wallet card.

  • Make sure you have access to NOAA radio broadcasts:

  • Find an online NOAA radio station

  • Search for a NOAA radio app in the Apple Store or Google Play

  • Purchase a battery-powered or hand-crank NOAA radio in the Red Cross Store

  • Find out if you are located 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, easy access to these documents. Keep them in a safe place less likely to be damaged during a flood. Take pictures on a phone and keep copies of important documents and files on a flashdrive that you can carry with you on your house or car keys.

Protecting Your Pets & Animals

  • Prepare a pet emergency kit for your companion animals.

  • Ensure that any outbuildings, pastures, or corrals are protected in the same way as your home.

  • If installing or changing fence lines, consider placing them in such a way that your animals are able to move to higher ground in the event of flooding.

Corey Turner places sandbags around the front door of his Northeast Jackson home. Like others in the area, he's preparing for the second Pearl River flood in two years and said, "It will test your faith."
Corey Turner places sandbags around the front door of his Northeast Jackson home. Like others in the area, he's preparing for the second Pearl River flood in two years and said, "It will test your faith."

Protecting Your Home

  • If you live in a floodplain, elevate and reinforce your home to make damage less likely during a flood.

  • Check with a professional to:

  • Raise your furnace, water heater, and electric panel to floors that are less likely to be flooded. An undamaged water heater may be your best source of fresh water after a flood.

  • Install check valves in plumbing to prevent floodwater from backing up into the drains of your home. (As a last resort, when floods threaten, use large corks or stoppers to plug showers, tubs, or basins.)

  • Construct barriers such as levees, berms, and flood walls to stop floodwater from entering the building (if permitted by local building codes).

  • Seal walls in basements with waterproofing compounds to avoid seepage through cracks.

  • Use sand bags when flooding is expected:

  • It takes two people about one 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 place them properly.

  • If a flood 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 already available at 4225 Michael Avalon Street in Jackson until 5 p.m. today and will be available for pickup on Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m.

Shelters

  • One shelter for those fleeing flood waters is open at the Jackson Police Academy at 3000 St. Charles Street. Another shelter will be opened by the city and announced as needed.

School buses

  • Jackson Public Schools expects there to be some disruption of school buses in the coming days but won't know until they know the exact places where there will be flooding. They urged parents and students to be aware of any updates as they come.

How to get help, information

  • Jackson officials say if anyone has issues with mobility or transportation to leave their home because of potential flooding, they should call 311 as soon as possible. If residents can't get through on 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.

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

  • Hightower community

  • Silas Brown Street

Neighborhoods in Jackson are most frequently affected by flooding:

  • Belhaven

  • Fondren

  • Presidential Hills

  • Midtown

  • Hemingway Circle

  • Casa Grande

  • Choctaw Road off State Street

Major creeks in the city are also particularly prone to flooding:

  • Hanging Moss

  • Purple Creek

  • Town Creek

  • Eubanks Creek

Pearl River at 34 feet

  • City garage area off S. Jefferson Street

  • Eastover area

  • Foxboro Street

  • Galilee Street

  • Martin & Hinds streets

  • Old Brandon Road

  • President Street - south end

  • Sidney Street

  • South West Street - Union Planter s

  • 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

  • Yucca Drive

Pearl River at 35 feet

  • Annie Street

  • Beasley Street

  • City garage area off S. Jefferson Street

  • Cypress Trail

  • Deer Trail

  • Eastover area

  • Foxboro Street

  • Galilee Street

  • Greenwood  Avenue at Hardy Creek

  • Hudson Street - east end

  • Martin & Hinds streets

  • McNuitt Street

  • Nichols Street

  • Offutt Street

  • Old Brandon Road

  • President Street from South Silas Brown Street - south end

  • River cove area

  • River Glenn area

  • North River Road

  • Riverwood/Harrow drives

  • Rollingwood at Yucca Drive - south end

  • Rosemary Road east of Terry Road

  • Sidney Street

  • South West Street - Union Planter s

  • South West Street - Randy's Upholstery parking lot

  • Westbrook Road - east of Sedgewick Drive

  • Yucca Drive

Pearl River at 36 feet 

  • Annie Street

  • Beasley Street

  • Beatty & Rankin streets at Silas Brown Street

  • Canterbury Court

  • Canton Club Circle at Sedgewick Drive

  • Canton Club Circle - northeast end

  • City garage area off S. Jefferson Street

  • Cypress Trail

  • Deer Trail

  • Eastover area

  • Foxboro Street

  • Galilee Street

  • Greenwood  Avenue at Hardy Creek

  • Harrow Drive

  • Hinds Street

  • Hudson Street - east end

  • Julienne Street

  • Linde Air Trailer Court

  • Martin & Hinds streets

  • McNuitt Street

  • Meadow Oaks Park Drive

  • Moncure Road

  • Nichols Street

  • Offutt Street

  • Old Brandon Road

  • President Street from South Silas Brown Street - south end

  • Rankin Street

  • River cove area

  • River Glenn area

  • North River Road

  • Riverwood/Harrow drives

  • Rollingwood at Yucca Drive - south end

  • Rosemary Road east of Terry Road

  • Santa Clara Circle

  • Sedgewick Drive & Canton Club Circle

  • Sidney Street

  • South West Street - Union Planter s

  • South West Street - Randy's Upholstery parking lot

  • Sproles Street

  • Stokes Robinson Road

  • Westbrook Road - east of Sedgewick Drive

  • Yucca Drive

Pearl River at 37 feet

  • Annie Street

  • Beasley Street

  • Beatty & Rankin streets at Silas Brown Street

  • Canterbury Court

  • Canton Club Circle at Sedgewick Drive

  • Canton Club Circle - northeast end

  • City garage area off S. Jefferson Street

  • Congress Street

  • Cypress Trail

  • Deer Trail

  • Dunbarton Drive - west end

  • Eastover area

  • Foxboro Street

  • Galilee Street

  • Greenwood  Avenue at Hardy Creek

  • Harrow Drive

  • Hinds Street

  • Hudson Street - east end

  • Julienne Street

  • Linde Air Trailer Court

  • Martin & Hinds streets

  • McNuitt Street

  • Meadow Oaks Park Drive

  • Moncure Road

  • Nichols Street

  • Offutt Street

  • Old Brandon Road

  • President Street from South Silas Brown Street - south end

  • Rankin Street

  • River cove area

  • River Glenn area

  • North River Road

  • Riverwood/Harrow drives

  • Rollingwood South

  • Rollingwood at Yucca Drive - south end

  • Rosemary Road east of Terry Road

  • Santa Clara Circle

  • Sedgewick Drive & Canton Club Circle

  • Sidney Street

  • Silas Brown between Congress & West streets

  • South West Street - Union Planter s

  • South West Street - Randy's Upholstery parking lot

  • Sproles Street

  • State Street

  • Stokes Robinson Road

  • Twin Lakes Circle off Greenbriar and Pebble lanes.

  • Westbrook Road - east of Sedgewick Drive

  • Village Park Mobile Homes

  • Yucca Drive

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: How to prepare for projected flood along Pearl River in Jackson