Officials give update on storm clean-up, talk flood prevention

JACKSON, Tenn. — With more storms in West Tennessee on Monday, we spoke to city and county officials for an update on the remaining debris and ways to stay safe.

The City Engineer of Jackson, Thomas Wolf, says residents should check the storm drains on their streets to make sure there is no debris blocking it.

“Stormwater operations people generally make a route through the city,” Wolf said. “We know some areas where the grates and the roads plug up from leaves and debris and ultimately flood the area. They do that generally, they get about a half a day’s worth of work on the big ones. I think we send everyone we got to fix, clear the grates.”

Wolf says standing water has been a problem in Jackson and that the city is taking action to prevent flooding.

“We’re going to develop an assessment, figure out what we have and get a condition of what we do have and from that we hope to be able to create some capital improvement projects that will significantly impact storm waters and get rid of a lot of the flooding,” said Wolf.

Stephanie Williams, Madison County EMA Director of Planning and Outreach, says residents should have a backup plan if their streets are prone to flooding.

“From the last few storms that we had in this area, we’ve had more than three roads that were completely washed out,” said Williams. “If you can’t see the road, don’t go. I mean, you hear it all the time. Turn around, don’t drown.”

The City of Jackson EMA Director, Jason Moore, says debris clean-up will start once the severe weather has passed.

“Now that we know that we’re not getting that declaration, and that’s because the state didn’t reach its threshold from the federal government. We will now start cleaning up that debris,” Moore said.

EMA officials say residents can call their office at (731) 427-1271 to find more information on how to keep their homes safe.

For more news in the Jackson and Madison County area, click here.