Portions of Yazoo City were inundated with floodwater over the weekend as officials report that a tremendous amount of rainfall combined with flooded river stages contributed to what has now been declared a local state of emergency.
Both city and county officials have signed a local declaration of emergency, enabling the community to receive assistance from the state as local officials continue damage assessments.
Jack Willingham, county emergency management director, said about 30 homes have reported damage with no injuries.
“We had a tremendous amount of rainfall in a short amount of time,” Willingham said. “And the river is already at flood stage. It was the perfect storm for bad things to happen.”
Several areas within Yazoo City, particularly in the Canal Street area, were hit with floodwater from storms that circulated through the area in the late Friday and early Saturday morning hours.
“It was all around town, not just a particular area,” Willingham added.
Willingham said it is also predicted that the area received about six inches of rainfall in a short amount of time.
The floodwater continued to push through Yazoo City during Saturday’s early morning hours with many streets literally disappearing under the water. The water from the canal that runs through central Yazoo City was overflowing its concrete barriers into the roadway with portions of main thoroughfares flooding.
The city of Yazoo City has been very proactive recently in cleaning out the city’s drains and ditches. But the amount of tremendous rainfall in a short amount of time, along with a flooded river stage, proved too much for local drainage.
