Watch for water: Heavy rains leave debris, water on roads
OKTIBBEHA COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Since early this morning we have been seeing heavy rainfall causing rapid flooding on roads throughout the area.
Cedar Grove Road is just one of many seeing this flooding.
Oktibbeha County Road Manager Victor Collins said his crews have been working non-stop all day.
“We got it in probably about four hours this morning. Real hard rain just steady and the runoff behind that is devastating to the roads. With all the rain we had, we have got a lot of roads that are trying to flood so that is what we are working on, getting those ready where people can get back home this afternoon,” Collins said.
And the crews are using all the tools at their disposal to accomplish that goal.
“We use machines to try to fix the roads. We actually have to do a lot of handwork for culverts that are stopping up with leaves and stuff like that. We just clean them out by hand with rakes and forks. On the bigger issues, we use a motor grader to go around and try to level some of the spots that washed out to get them where vehicles can get through,” Collins said.
They have seen at least 25 areas of road completely covered. Some areas are worse than others.
“Mostly in the rural areas, is where we have got the most because it is undeveloped. The roads are gravel and they haven’t been built up,” Collins said.
As rain continues to fall, however, Collins said there might be some roads that will not be cleared until tomorrow. He encourages people to be safe and avoid any standing water.
“Don’t travel across water especially moving that fast. It could sweep your car off the road and cause injuries,” Collins said.
Collins said that if you see flooded roads you can report them to 911 or at (662)323-5752.
