Emergency Management teams urge residents to prepare for Hurricane Ida

As Hurricane Ida approaches, Emergency Management Agencies are hoping folks prepare days before for bad weather.

WEBSTER/LOWNDES COUNTIES, Miss. (WCBI) – Hurricane Ida will be reaching the Mississippi gulf coast tomorrow and is predicted to be in Northeast Mississippi by Monday.

“Today is a preparing day. So, start preparing now,” Emergency Management Director, Cindy Lawrence said.

In most situations, folks want to be ready.

As Hurricane Ida approaches Mississippi, Emergency Management Director of Webster County, Barry Rushing, warned residents the aftermath can be dangerous for central Mississippians.

“Some of the risks are high winds, it can do roof damage and trees down and power outages. Some of the flooding, flash flooding,” Rushing said.

With potential flash flooding and high winds, Cindy Lawrence said the community should be aware of the risk their family and residence are in.

“35, 45 miles per hour winds, that, you know, it’s been raining, our grounds have been saturated. So we know, what comes with rain, we know that sometimes trees come down. And when trees come down, power lines come down,” Lawrence said.

Lawrence and Rushing both said folks can prepare on sunny days before to better protect their houses from flooding and it all starts with checking drainage systems near houses.

“One thing we tell people that live next to ditches, if, you know, today, maybe you want to walk out and look out and make sure there’s no debris that could actually cause the water to back up and next thing you know,
it’s in your house. So we just say, look around your house, any little ditch or trench around your house, make sure it’s clear,” Lawrence said.

“Best thing to do is have you a good plan and be aware of surrounding area and the weather in the area and keep track of it,” Rushing said.

With a plan to drain rain effectively, it’s recommended to put away outdoor items until severe weather passes.

“Go outside, maybe you got some patio chairs, patio furniture, garbage cans. We ask you to take that and secure it either inside or secure it somewhere on the outside where it won’t become debris for you. Because it could actually end up inside your house,” Lawrence said.

Since North Mississippi is no stranger to floodwaters, Rushing and his teams are monitoring areas that are likely to fill up.

“We do have low-lying areas that are in flood zones. Be like in the bottoms near the bridges and such as that so we keep an eye on those. The ones we know, we check on,” Rushing said.

For residents living in low-lying areas, call your county’s Emergency Management Team or 9-1-1 to assist with evacuations needs.