Early projections for the flooding have continued to be lowered, but while the worst fears won’t be realized, there’s a lot to clean up.

Local, state and Corps of Engineers officials are breathing easier now with news of a lower predicted crest for the Mississippi River, removing the threat of more heavy flooding in Vicksburg and Warren County.

The National Weather Service has reduced the crest for Vicksburg to 50.2 feet — the third revision since it issued a warning for a 54-foot crest about three weeks ago in late December. The initial prediction forced city and county officials and the Corps’ Vicksburg District to ramp up activity to prepare for the most serious flood since the 2011 spring Mississippi River flood, when the river crested at 57.1 feet, nine-tenths higher than the 1927 flood.

“Thank goodness,” Warren County Emergency Management Director John Elfer said of the lowered crest. “But 50 feet is still a lot of water.”

But while the crest is lower, eliminating the threat to a good part of the area, floodwaters already flowing into several flood-prone areas of the city and county are taking their toll, forcing people to leave their homes and covering roads and filling buildings with water.

According to county EMA statistics, an estimated 108 city and county residents have been displaced or affected by the flood, and 103 homes affected by the water and 23 city and county roads closed.

Officials said the lessons learned in the 2011 flood played a large part in the response to get ready for this event.

City public works employees closed the gates along the floodwall and extended the floodwall east of the river across Levee Street to Grove Street, stacking timbers to endure a 56-foot flood. A 2-foot sandbag wall was placed around the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Depot to keep water out of the building.

With the drop in the crest, the floodwall is coming down and the officials who are still watching the river have been able to relax a little.

Concerning the precautions taken prior to the flood, Elfer said. “I’d rather prepare for it and not need it. I wouldn’t do anything different, because it takes so long to get everything done. If nothing else, it was a good opportunity to practice the plan and make sure everything worked.”

Mayor George Flaggs Jr. agreed.

“I personally think we had to do what we had to do, based on the forecast. I think we should always err on the side of caution, and that’s what we tried to do,” he said. “I was glad we were able to provide the precautions as a model for the future. Setting up the committee and collaborating and communicating between the all the agencies in the county. That’s going to be meaningful if we have a flood.”

“Right now everything’s great,” said Greg Raimondo, public affairs chief for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Vicksburg District. “The team did an awesome job putting everything up and buttoning up getting ready to go. The workers with the sandbags. City workers got that floodwall way quicker than anybody thought they would.”

Presently, Raimondo said, officials are “ just sitting and hoping nothing bows up anywhere.” He also called the close call a good practice run.

“The only thing I’m looking forward to now is when the water gets low and they can open up Steele bayou and drain out some of that backwater area,” he said.

One group maintaining the same vigilance they were when the waters started rising is law enforcement.

Police Chief Walter Armstrong said the city so far has gone through the flooding without incident.

“We’ve had no sightseers and no one has tried to launch a boat except law enforcement,” he said. “We have had no burglary calls in the flooded area. In the areas off (U.S.) 61 South, were people on the railbed operating the pumps to keep water out.”

He said the police department established two posts in the Ford Subdivision and Kings community areas, adding he drew from the experience of 2011.

“We had more officers volunteer to work days off and the public has been very supportive,” he said. “If anything, we were overprepared, but I’d rather be overprepared than not be prepared.”

Flaggs said the preparations “started off as a great challenge, but it looks like it’s going to be a great opportunity. I applaud everybody who was involved.

“Unfortunately, we still have to deal with those people living in the low-laying areas and how we can enhance we need a roster or current listing of available housing.”

Of the 108 displaced people, Elfer said, officials were able to help 19 with temporary long-term temporary housing.

Riding in a sheriff’s department boat with Sheriff Martin Pace and detective Sam Winchester, the problem facing the residents in Fords and Kings is evident. Floodwaters have made their way into homes, making them uninhabitable. A tour through the area shows homes with water up to the windows and submerged cars. Some homes, abandoned after the 2011 flood, are still there. Mailboxes sit covered and the tops of fences are barely seen.

Children’s toy boxes and other items float over streets where about three weeks earlier cars travelled.

In some areas, the water is about 2 to 3 feet deep. In other areas, from 5 feet to 13.

In the Chickasaw community, high water makes it difficult to tell difference between Chickasaw Creek and the road. Mobile homes and some houses sit on pilings above the water and water covers acres of farmland.

One house is still occupied in Chickasaw. Pace waives to a man standing on his deck perched above the water on pilings.

“How high’s the water,” Pace shouts.

“Six feet high and rising comes a response.”