LONG BEACH, Miss. (WLOX) — Long Beach crews spent Wednesday inspecting ditches and canals, trying to get ahead of what could be a significant flooding event.
The city has two large drainage canals that move water through town, and Fire Chief Griff Skellie says they are ready.
“They’re constantly doing inspections. They keep them maintained, water flows easily through,” Skellie said. “If we have a flood-type rain we should see a difference in some of the areas that usually flood.”
Greenwood Drive resident Billy Laughlin said his street floods every time it rains, and with heavy rain bearing down, he is already preparing for the worst.
“My car wouldn’t make it through here,” Laughlin said. “It will get halfway, the highest it ever got was up to my bushes.”
Laughlin has lived on Greenwood Drive for 20 years, and he knows firsthand what a powerful storm can do. He remembers the devastation Hurricane Katrina left behind.
“The water got up there and over there it was up to my waist,” Laughlin said. “As long as the Gulf is not high tide at the time of the rain, it’ll drain.”
According to the WLOX First Alert Weather Team, widespread heavy rain is possible overnight and throughout the day Thursday.
The Long Beach Fire Department says it is working in collaboration with public works and the police department to manage flooding across the city.
Chief Skellie encourages residents to stay off the roads as much as they can if flooding intensifies. The city has also opened a sandbag location on Klondyke Road.
“They need to think about the homeowners living on these streets that have water on them but when you drive through that and make that wake, that’s all that may take to put water in homes. So, I’m asking people to think about that,” Skellie said.
Laughlin said the city’s preparations give him hope that when the rain comes, the water will drain fast enough to spare his street.
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