Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey issued the following statement and pictures.
On Friday February 9th, at approximately 10:13 p.m., the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office began receiving 911 calls about a “wall” of water flowing across U.S. Highway 49 in Rankin County near the Simpson County line. Callers reported vehicles being washed off the road and people stranded in cars. First Responders were immediately dispatched to the area, including Rankin County Deputies, MHP Troopers, Star Fire Department, Rankin County EOC, Rankin County Road Manager and a Rankin County Board of Supervisors Engineer. Simpson County Sheriff’s Department and Simpson County EOC were also notified.
When first responders arrived on scene they found two disabled vehicles on the highway and a large amount of debris covering the roadway. Officials from Piney Woods School informed responders that the dam on a lake by the school had failed and the lake was completely empty.
The occupants of the two vehicles were not injured. One vehicle was completely disabled from water damage. A witness in one of the vehicles stated that she was traveling north on U.S. 49 when a wall of waist high water came across the highway pushing her car to the side of the road. Trees, debris and silt were covering the road. Star Fire Department removed the debris from the road. Rankin EOC officials along with the Rankin Count Road Manager and Engineer checked road and residents downstream from the dam and found no damage. Officials from the nearby Canadian National Railroad were asked to inspect their tracks for any damage. MDOT responded and inspected the roadway and determined it was safe to use.
Investigators from the MS Department of Environmental Quality Dam Safety Division are on scene today investigating the cause of the breach.
Officials from Piney Woods Schools responded and worked closely with first responders to ensure all children on campus were not in any danger.
The lake was constructed in the 1930s and was between 4 and 5 acres large and up to 20 feet deep. The breach in the dam is approximately 130 feet wide.
9 comments:
A weak damn wall is a recipe for a damn break.
Should never have been dammed up in he first place, judging from the photo. looks like a one or two acre pond at most, a catch basis of sorts, that should have been allowed to simply run downhill as a watershed. Maybe a ditch, at most, to divert it away from a road. Recipe for disaster is right.
Beavers can undermine a dam in a flash.
I reckon it's a Baptismal since it's owned by Piney Woods. They ought to be made to reimburse for the cleanup. Not a state problem. Not a county problem.
I'm not seeing anywheres near to five acres in that thar satalite pitcher. And no need to be an expert anyone can do it! Just eyeball how many double wides both ways to cover that fishin hole in the pitcher, convert from double wides to rods and commence to figgering!
Answer is not much more than an acre so's theres one big snapper or several small ones. Commence to searchin for dinner!
Damn dam!
If you can’t trust a dam, who can you trust?
Google Earth suggests the pond is about 2.7 acres in size.
Rankin County is lost.
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