Relentless Rain, Rising Rivers Keep Flooding Southeast Communities

This winter’s relentless rains across the South are still draining into rising rivers, leading to ongoing flooding in some communities.

In south Alabama, the Bayou Sara is forecast to crest at 8 feet (2.4 meters) by Wednesday evening and remain near that level through the weekend, the National Weather Service reported Tuesday. That means water has already invaded some homes in the Mobile suburb of Saraland, WALA-TV reported. The projected crest still hasn’t hit the area, so that water isn’t going away anytime soon.

In northern Mississippi, recent rain and backwater flooding from the rising Mississippi River is turning neighborhoods into islands in the small community of Tchula. Some cars have been submerged, and people have constructed makeshift walkways over the water to get in and out of their homes.

“I have seen alligators, snakes and all different insects,”’ resident Jennie Jefferson told WLBT-TV.

Officials there say water can’t drain out of the area because the Mississippi River and backwater levels are high, the station reported.

Topics Flood Mississippi