Calhoun Co. prepares for Francine as it is prone to flooding

CALHOUN COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Whether it’s tornado or hurricane season, Calhoun County is ready to take on whatever comes its way.

Emergency Management Director Randy Skinner says they have some low-lying areas that are very prone to flooding.

“Over the years, we’ve had several incidents where we have to do boat rescues,” Skinner said. “We’ve had to do where we shut down sections of road in various places throughout the county due to high water and rapid water and stuff.”

They’ve set up Special Response Teams to be ready when disaster strikes and each member is certified in their field.

“We have a lot of different people, mostly volunteers and professionals alike,” Skinner said. “They each bring their own skill set. We’ve got rope rescue, we’ve got grain bin rescue, we’ve got, dive team, we’ve got search and rescue, various things.”

Their training requires a lot of time, and often, travel.

But, Skinner says it takes that high level of training to maintain a high level of readiness.

“They’ve got experience,” Skinner said. “If you don’t know what you’re doing, and you don’t have that experience, you’ll be a statistic yourself, just adding to the problem.”

Adding to the county’s problems is the log jam on the Yalobusha River.

“That causes a lot more aerial flooding because it’s already backed up,” Skinner said. “When I say a 3-inch rain most people would say that’s not much. We can’t say that because of the problem with the river, it will not pull water away from us fast enough….that’s just one of our problems.”

Overall, Skinner says a lot of it is about adapting and overcoming.

“It helps to have the training, having the experience, having people willing to train and willing to do that to handle whatever you come across,” Skinner said.

They’re going to start dredging the river by the end of this year in the hopes of preventing future flooding

Skinner says he is also thankful for the help of their state partners.

Considering all the variables that went into today, he is thankful the circumstances haven’t been worse.

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