Mississippi braces for near-record flooding over days of torrential rain

JACKSON, Miss — Authorities in Mississippi are bracing for the possibility of catastrophic flooding around the state capital of Jackson as water levels rise precipitously in a river swollen by days of torrential rain. 

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves declared a state of emergency Saturday to amass the resources necessary to cope with the cresting of the Pearl River, which runs in the area around the state capital of Jackson. 

The river is expected to crest at 38 feet (11.6 meters) Sunday evening. 

A mandatory evacuation was in place for affected areas. Parts of Jackson and suburban Ridgeland were under evacuation orders. 

Reeves said Saturday that more than 2,400 homes and other structures in and near Jackson could be inundated.

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Mario Vargas, right, his sister Alondra Rodriguez, left, and their aunt Nadia Castillo, back, carry a washing machine from Vargas’ mother’s mobile home in the Harbor Pines Mobile Home Community of Ridgeland, Miss., Friday, Feb. 14, 2020. Officials estimate the flooding along the Pearl River to create the worst flooding in the Capitol city of Jackson and some neighboring communities since 1983. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

AP