Sunday Storm Downs Trees, Hundreds Were Without Power

OAKLAND – A severe thunderstorm with strong wind brought down trees across Yalobusha County late Sunday afternoon, causing widespread power outages and damage.

Yalobusha County EMA Director Stewart Spence reported the strong storm and saturated soil from previous rains made a tough combination, especially on the west side of the county around Oakland, Tillatoba, Scobey and Wayside.

“We had trees down all over the county” EMA Director Stewart Spence reported. “But Oakland was probably hit the hardest, just about every street had a downed tree and there was one on a house.

Spence reported first responders worked until the early hours Monday morning in the aftermath of the storm as roads were cleared and several people rescued. Spence said the responses included a house in Oakland after a resident was trapped inside when a tree fell on it. Also on Sunday night, first responders assisted a motorist who was trapped in her vehicle after driving in flood waters on County Road 215.

“There was significant rainfall with the storm,” Spence added.

Another motorist was trapped on County Road 5 near Scobey after a tree came down blocking the road.

Spence reported Eddie Simmons turned around and headed the other direction when another tree fell, blocking his vehicle. First responders worked into the early morning hours cutting trees out of roads across the county.

“And it took several hours before Eddie was able to make it home,” Spence added.

The EMA Director reported volunteer fire fighters, on-duty and off-duty deputies and road crews from all five supervisor districts were out after the storm.

“There were a lot of areas where we cut enough limbs to allow a vehicle to pass that night. It will take much longer to get everything cleaned up,” Spence added.

Spence urges Yalobusha residents to report property damage after a storm to allow the EMA to assess and document it. The documentation helps determine if there is enough damage to warrant a disaster declaration that could trigger federal funds to help with the clean-up. To report storm-related property damage, call the sheriff’s department dispatch at (662) 473-2722.

Power Outages

Tallahatchie Valley Electric Power Association’s outage map showed thousands of customers were without power after the storm system moved through Tallahatchie, Grenada and Yalobusha counties. At presstime Tuesday afternoon, TVEPA’s outage map showed the outages were down to a few sporadic locations across the county including 90 customers north of Tillatoba. The map also showed 28 customers north of Coffeeville were still without electricity, two in Coffeeville, one in Velma and one north of Scobey.

Entergy’s outage map showed five outages remained in Oakland at presstime Tuesday.

Water Valley Report

Water Valley Police Chief Jason Mangrum reported damage was minimal in the city compared to in the county.

“We had four large trees down in the city,” the chief said. “And one small power outage, and that was because the electric department de-energized the line to safely remove a tree on a line.”

Mangrum reported there was a strong response after the storm.

“We had off-duty officers come out and help with traffic and trees, the electric department crews, street department had a strong response. There were a number of civilians who came out with personal chain saws,” the chief added.