Miss. not yet out of flood danger

JACKSON, Miss. - Days of heavy rain have created a dilemma for authorities managing dams along swollen rivers in Mississippi and Tennessee. The water must be released at some point, which will worsen flooding downstream. Dramatic video from a Tennessee fire department showed the impact: Two houses tumbled off a bluff over the Tennessee River. Others have been swamped to the rooftops, and neighborhoods disappear into the waters below Tennessee Valley Authority's Pickwick Reservoir. “We have engineers on duty 24-7 trying to figure out what's the most effective way to move this water downstream with the least impact,” a TVA spokesperson told The AP. February's rains have been “400 percent of normal, and we have more coming in this week,” he continued. Mississippi's Pearl River crested on Feb. 17 at just under 37 feet - well short of its historic worst-case scenario - 43.2 feet on April 17, 1979. It should begin draining soon, Gov. Tate Reeves said Monday. There have been no reports of flood-related injuries. Only 16 search and rescue missions have been necessary, he said, even though as many as 1,000 homes were flooded. But Reeves cautioned that rainfall is expected to continue through the evening of Feb. 19. No one should return to a flooded home until authorities say it's safe to do so, the governor warned. Forecasters expect more rain between midday Tuesday and Wednesday across the region. "We as a state are not in the clear yet," Reeves said. (Source: The AP 02/17/20) TVA's Pickwick Landing Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Tennessee River in Hardin County, Tenn. The dam is only a few miles north of the point where Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi meet. Pickwick Lake stretches nearly 53 miles to the base of Wilson Dam at Muscle Shoals, Ala.; includes parts of Hardin County; Lauderdale and Colbert counties in Alabama, and Tishomingo County in Miss. In Jackson, Miss., Mayor Chokwe Lumumba said power had been shut off to 504 residences for safety purposes. Some city homes have been flooded by the Pearl River over-running its banks; and about 30 people are at a shelter, he said.