Flowood officials report more than 200 rescues after April 2 flash flooding

At the April 3, 2017 meeting of the Flowood Mayor and Board of Aldermen, Johnny Dewitt reported that torrential rains on April 2 caused widespread flooding and that city fire and police personnel conducted "over 200 rescues." Mayor Gary Rhoads and the aldermen recorded the report during the meeting's public safety updates.

The report, delivered by Johnny Dewitt, summarized emergency response efforts and the volume of rescue activity that followed the heavy rainfall. Dewitt told the board that both Fire and Police Department personnel were heavily engaged in rescue operations during the event.

The board received the report as part of the meeting's regular business; no formal vote on emergency expenditures or declarations was recorded in the minutes. During the same meeting the board approved a consent agenda that included routine claims dockets, a $36,125 payment to Benchmark Engineering & Surveying, LLC for water valve location and GIS mapping, and authorization for the Police Department to declare certain old weapons surplus and trade them with a licensed gun dealer.

Mayor Rhoads and aldermen also approved a personnel hire for the Fire Department (Ryan Wheatley as Private 2 Step 1) and a Public Works hire (John Guy, Laborer 2 Step 1, Landscape Division), and they accepted the city's audited financial statements for fiscal year 2016.

No additional emergency actions, funding authorizations, or follow-up assignments related to the April 2 flooding are recorded in the meeting minutes; the board adjourned after its other business was completed.