Oktibbeha County resident battles flood water

OKTIBBEHA COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – The heavy rain over the last few days has caused flooding problems throughout the Golden Triangle area.

Patrick Francis has spent the last 12 hours trying to get flood water out of his house. He said there was so much water he had to call his insurance company.

When Patrick Francis went to bed Monday night, he had no idea what he’d wake up to the next morning.

“I woke up, walked out of the room, noticed a little bit of water on the floor, and was like ‘that’s weird.’ I walked out and noticed more water on the floor and knew that there was something not right,” said Francis.

Patrick has spent the better part of Tuesday trying to get the water out.

“Went this morning and bought the shop vac, and so far I’ve emptied about 14, 15 gallons of water,” said Francis.

Francis has lived in Oktibbeha County for seven years, and he said he is no stranger to rising water.

“It’s flooded so bad that I looked out the window and it looked like it was on a houseboat because it was so flooded, but it, like I said, never made it this far,” said Francis.

Part of the issue is the location of Patrick’s house — a lowland area.

“We have this big creek that runs through, and it’s always been kind of an issue with overflowing, for the main thing. So, we just had the driveway re-done and I guess it hasn’t fully set,” said Francis.

Despite the bad luck, Francis is remaining optimistic.

“Honestly it could have been much, much worse,” said Francis.

Oktibbeha County EMA Director Kristen Campanella said portions of Sanders Road, Hickory Grove Road, and Longview Adaton Road will be closed until the water goes down.

There are still some roads in Lowndes County closed due to high water.

Those include Hodges-Shelton Road, Alomar Road, and Gatlin Road.