Officials urge caution as Mississippi River nears 47.5-foot crest in Vicksburg

VICKSBURG, Miss. by Don Hill (VDN) — With the Mississippi River expecting to crest at 47.5 feet by the weekend, city, county, state, and federal officials are taking the necessary precautions to mitigate the rising waters as well as keeping the Warren County and Vicksburg community informed and up-to-date.

“The safety and well being of our community remain our top priority, and we want to ensure you that the public has accurate and timely information about the current conditions and what to expect in the days to come,” said Mayor George Flaggs in a press conference held yesterday afternoon, in conjunction with USACE, MEMA, and Warren County Emergency Management Agency.

“During this high water event, we are focusing on three priorities,” said Colonel Jeremiah Gipson, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg District. “One, the safety of our responders and those personnel who are going to be walking the levees for the weeks to come, making sure that the water stays on the wet side of the levee, and we stay dry. Two, the protection and security of lives and and property. It’s very, very important that we stay focused on the communities that are protected by our levies and the floodwalls. Lastly, we’re gonna operate the Mississippi River tributaries project as designed to pass this 2025 high water event.”

Stephen McCraney, Executive Director of MEMA said that although the weather is nice, the rising waters are coming.

“We’ve been monitoring all the way from Greenville and Tunica, Mississippi, and we’ve been watching the wave of water as it goes, and we’ll be here in Vicksburg until it starts dropping about the 30th,” said McRaney. “This is a long term, very slow, very purposeful movement of water.”

John Elfer, director of the Warren County Emergency Management Agency, said what he knows, the other agencies know, and that all of them are communicating on a daily basis.

“There’s no reason for anybody to get injured, or certainly killed with a river flood,” said Elfer “We know when it’s coming, and we know about when it’s going to leave.”

As of Wednesday morning, the water level at the Vicksburg gauge was 43.8 feet. The Mississippi Department of Transportation is planning to close Highway 465 — a main route connecting Eagle Lake residents to U.S. Highway 61 — on Friday.

“[Highway 465] will most likely close on Friday, which means those folks are going to have to travel that backwater levee, which is not an improved surface of travel,” said Elfer. “There’s a lot of livestock, there’s a lot of displaced animals up there. We want people to be safe and certainly be courteous to other drivers.”

Residents can sign up for alerts for severe weather, road closures, criminal activity, public health alerts, and other emergencies through separate portals for the city and the county.

Mississippi River Flood Stages near Vicksburg

• 55 feet – Highway 61 north of Vicksburg is flooded.
• 54 feet – Road is inundated at the intersection of Levee Street, North Washington Street, and First East Street.
• 52 feet – Most of Hutson Street in Vicksburg is inundated.
• 51 feet – Most streets west of Hutson Street in Vicksburg are flooded.
• 50 feet – Water reaches the south end of Hutson Street. Hall Road at Cedars Road is closed, and several businesses on Highway 61 South are flooded in the Vicksburg area.
• 49.5 feet – In Vicksburg, the west side of Thompson Lake Road up to the railroad is inundated.
• 49 feet – The river reaches Hall Road at Cedars Road and the edge of Cedars School Circle on the west side in Vicksburg.
• 48 feet – Culverts in South Vicksburg off Highway 61 South on the west side are full. Low-lying businesses near the railroad begin to take on water.
• 46.5 feet – Portions of Highway 465, Eagle Lake Road, and several houses are underwater. Portions of Letourneau Road in south Vicksburg are flooded.
• 46 feet – Water reaches the grain bins at the Bunge grain facility in St. Joseph, Louisiana. Ford Street in north Vicksburg begins to flood.
• 45 feet – Ford and Kings subdivision at Williams Street begins to flood.
• 44.6 feet – Residences on Williams Street in Vicksburg begins to flood.
• 44 feet – Ford and Kings subdivision at Pittman Road and Mary’s Alley begins to flood.
• 43 feet – Jackson Lane in north Vicksburg begins to flood.
• 42 feet – The Bunge grain facility near St. Joseph, Louisiana, ceases loading operations.
• 41 feet – Stormwater drain valves are closed at the floodgates along the Vicksburg waterfront.
• 40 feet – Several roads in the Long Lake and Chickasaw Bayou communities are inundated.
• 39 feet – First floodgate at the Vicksburg waterfront begins closing.
• 37–38 feet – Old River II becomes inaccessible.
• 36.5 feet – Water begins to affect the Long Lake community.
• 35 feet – Several thousand acres of farm, agricultural, and bottomland flood. In the Yazoo Backwater Area north of the city, hunting camps and forested land begin to flood.