West Tennessee counties spared from severe flooding

MADISON COUNTY, Tenn. — West Tennessee residents woke up Monday morning to rain from Tropical Depression Barry, but the area was spared the worst of it.

It’s not uncommon to see rushing water or standing water in the streets. Thankfully, for many West Tennessee counties, the flooding is not as bad as expected.

“We could handle another couple or three inches, more than likely without anything very serious,” said Gibson County Emergency Management Agency Director Rickey Graves.

So far, Madison County has only received two inches of rain since Saturday. In Gibson County, it’s even less.

“Creeks and the rivers all through the county are up. They’re not overrunning or anything, so right now we’re in pretty good shape,” Graves said.

The rain will continue for the next two days, and many counties will be under flash flood watch until Tuesday night.

For now, officials still want residents to take caution, even if the rain isn’t as bad as expected.

“Where people try to drive through flooded waters and there’s not a culvert there anymore, the culvert gets washed out, and that’s pretty much a death trap,” Graves said.

County officials also warn against walking through floodwaters, which can be contaminated.