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 flood. My administration, including MEMA, is closely monitoring this situation and actively working to respond as quickly as possible to the ongoing flood developments,” Reeves said. . Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba called for voluntary evacuations in areas expected to be affected by rising waters, while Reeves warned: “If your house floods in 2020, there is a high (likelihood) 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 statement. Officials initially predicted the Pearl River would reach 36 feet by Tuesday, CNN reported earlier, but the river is now expected to crest Monday into Monday night, emergency management officials said at a news conference Saturday. Barnett Reservoir General Manager John Sigmund warned about the water rising ahead of the peak, as the water is expected to rise steadily before slowly falling. “It looks like we’re going to be in the flood waters we’re seeing even today, probably by the end of the week with a gradual receding after that,” Sigmund said. The threat of heavy rain will be very localized on Saturday, but much of the area has seen excessive rain over the past week, so it won’t take much additional rain to worsen any ongoing flooding. A flood warning remains in effect for parts of Mississippi, including Jackson around the Pearl River, until further notice, the National Weather Service said. A flood warning was also issued for the Strong River in Simpson County until Monday. 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 by Monday. Florida’s peninsula will likely see the heaviest rainfall over the weekend. Sigmund said scattered and isolated rain during the week across the region is not expected to have a significant impact on water levels in the Mississippi.
