Power restored in Eagle Lake

Published 5:31 pm Friday, June 28, 2019

For a community in search of good news, power to Eagle Lake was restored Friday, nearly a week after it was knocked out in a series of storms Monday.

Twin County Electric, which provides power to the Eagle Lake area, earlier in the week announced they were contracting with a company from south Louisiana to help in the restoration of power to the area.

The reason for calling in a contractor was because the damaged area — located along Low Water Bridge Road in Issaquena County — was flooded.

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Twin County did not have the equipment to restore power in flooded areas and outsourced the work to a company that had both the equipment and experience to do it.

Throughout the week, water service to the area had remained operational thanks to generators that had been repaired.

However, the good news ends there as floodwaters in the Eagle Lake area continue to inundate roads and homes.

According to Warren County Emergency Management Director John Elfer, the number of structures in Warren County affected by the flooding along the Mississippi River and the Yazoo Back water Area is 438.

From homes that have water surrounding them and sewage backing up into the house, to those completely destroyed, the scale and scope of this flood disaster continues to mount.

“We’ve seen a slight drop. A very slight drop,” Elfer said. “In fact, there are some areas on the inside of the Brunswick Levee — around Pecanwood and Sea Island Drive — that water has increased, the result of recent rains and seepage coming under the mainline levee, which is normal.”

Elfer said areas along Floweree Road and U.S. 61 North that have been flooded for months might actually be the first to see flood waters leave the area, as they were among the first to get flooded.

Still, as waters go down, roads and other areas will continue to be dangerous and impassable.

“You’ve got a lot of debris in the road. The water may not be as deep, but you still have the same hazard,” Elfer said. “We haven’t even started to moving to clean that up.”

While the recovery of structures is still weeks and months away, Elfer said the focus continues to be on security of the areas flooded and support of those affected and displaced.

“There’s been a lot of misinformation out on social media and we are working to correct some of that,” he said. “Right now, we are working through the United Way and the Warren County Long Term Recovery Committee to try to figure out some ways we can meet people’s immediate needs and then identifying longer term assistance that we can give people.”

Elfer understands there are those who have been frustrated, as the flooding disaster is set to enter its fifth month.

“Some of these folks will be displaced, even if they can fix their homes, for months. Some of these folks will not have homes to return to for various reasons,” he said. “We understand that and are trying to identify those needs.”

For more information, contact the Warren County Emergency Management Agency at 601-636-1544. For information on the temporary housing program through the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, call 800-434-4243.

To contact the United Way of West Central Mississippi, call 601-636-1733.

About Tim Reeves

Tim Reeves, and his wife Stephanie, are the parents of three children, Sarah Cameron, Clayton and Fin, who all attend school in the Vicksburg Warren School District. The family are members of First Baptist Church Vicksburg. Tim is involved in a number of civic and volunteer organizations including the United Way of West Central Mississippi and serves on the City of Vicksburg's Riverfront Redevelopment Committee.

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