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  • EVACUATION This home on Hill Top drive off of Carroll Street flooded during Friday‚'s high waters. Picayune Police Capt. Jeremy Magri, in the boat, helps Jamie Harper get out of the high waters. (Photo by Jeremy Pittari)

    EVACUATION
September 2, 2012

Record flooding occurs in Picayune

East Hobolochitto Creek hits record crest

By Jeremy Pittari, Item Staff Writer The Picayune Item

PICAYUNE — Flooding reached record levels in Picayune on Friday due to the heavy rainfall from Hurricane Isaac and some areas were still under water Saturday.

The National Weather Service Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service recorded record crests on the East and West Hobolochitto creeks. On the West Hobolochitto, the creek crested at 24.63 feet, making it the third highest stage in the creek’s recorded history. The highest stage for that creek occurred on July 5, 1916 with 29.16 feet, followed by 24.96 feet on Dec. 15, 1961. Other high crests were 23.43 feet on January 21, 1993 and 23.25 feet on May 7, 1983.

The East Hobolochitto crested at 21.48 feet, making Friday’s level the highest recorded for that creek. The second highest occurred on Aug. 30, 2005 with a crest of 20.08 feet.

Homes began to flood Friday morning all around the city in areas close to the creek. Firefighters and police officers took to boats during the day to help people leave flooded areas along roads north of East Canal Street, including Abrams, Howard and Loftin Avenues and the streets in between. Water was flowing over several major streets in and around the city, including Beech and Mississippi Highway 43 North, forcing emergency responders to close the streets to protect the public. Residents in Westchester also experienced major flooding and some had to be brought out of the subdivision by emergency responders with Pine Grove Volunteer Fire Department and local law enforcement agencies, said Tony Bounds, Pearl River County Emergency Management Office public information officer.

Fire Chief Keith Brown said the atypical nature of how Isaac came to shore led to the flooding. The category one storm stalled and dumped large amounts of rain on Picayune and to the north of the city. All the water that fell in the north end of the county hit the city on Friday and was still draining downstream as of Saturday afternoon.

“We’re going to be dealing with this the next few days, trying to get people out of their flooded homes,” Brown said Friday.

Sandbags were available at key locations in the city. There were sites where residents could fill their own bags and about 400 sandbags filled by city employees also were distributed to area residents, said Public Works Director Eric Morris.

There was a rumor that National Guard troops had been pulled out of Picayune Saturday, but Bounds said three teams were released that had been in the area since the start of the storm, but those teams were immediately replaced. Bounds said there still is a National Guard presence in the area.

The Salvation Army and American Red Cross were at Logans Quick Stop on Beech Street on Saturday handing out water and cleaning supplies. They are expected to be back in the area soon. Bounds said two disaster centers will open by midweek to address disaster needs. Those locations will be at Chimney Square, 917 Goodyear Boulevard in Picayune, and at the Chancery Court Annex, 204 Julia St. in Poplarville.

Doris Furlough has lived on Antoinette road, off Inside Road, for the past five years and by 10 a.m. Friday the water began to rise near her home. She said within two to three hours the water was threatening her home.

Devin Credeur and Jamie Harper were trapped in their home Friday morning. Fire and police personnel responded in a small flat boat, carrying the young couple and their cat to dry land. Credeur said water had already flooded the lower level of the house by Friday morning and was getting close to reaching the kitchen on the upper level.

As of Saturday afternoon several roads were still closed, including Burnt Bridge Road, Hampton Road, Liberty Road – washed out at Magee Creek, Liberty Road near Rosemary Wheat Road, North Beech Street between city limits and Mississippi Highway 43 North, Sycamore Road at West Union Road, Silver Run/Wolf River and Ulman Stockstill Road; Westchester Drive and Inside Road are not passable.

A curfew was put in place in the flooded areas of Picayune on Friday and will continue in areas that remain flooded, said Police Capt. Chad Dorn.

Public Works employees attempted to ease the flooding by removing debris from curbs and storm drains to help water drain quickly. Morris said city gas employees went to areas affected by the flood and turned off gas to homes that were flooding. The concern was that the rising water would extinguish pilot lights, releasing gas into the home. During the flooding crisis, residents had permission from the city to turn off the gas at the meter themselves. Morris said typically only city employees are authorized to adjust a gas meter, but under this situation the city is granting permission for residents to turn off the gas themselves if it appears water will enter their homes.

Morris asks anyone who did turn off gas to notify the city by calling 311 so city employees can turn the gas back on and light the pilot light when it is safe to do so.

Any residents who would like to submit pictures of flooding in their homes or around the city are asked to submit them to City Hall. Morris said city officials are collecting data concerning water levels and crests in case funding is found for future efforts to ease flooding in the city by doing work along the creek. Morris said the ability to do any such work to ease flooding would be dependent on the availability of federal or state funds.

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Jim Greeson, Indiana's state fire marshal, leads Terre Haute fifth-graders in an earthquake drill in February. The drill was held in connection with the annual Great Central U.S. ShakeOut. Here Greeson demonstrates the "Drop, Cover and Hold On" technique for surviving an earthquake inside a building.

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MainStory5.IndyQuakeDrill.jpg

Jim Greeson, Indiana's state fire marshal, leads Terre Haute fifth-graders in an earthquake drill in February. The drill was held in connection with the annual Great Central U.S. ShakeOut. Here Greeson demonstrates the "Drop, Cover and Hold On" technique for surviving an earthquake inside a building.

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