Mississippi City Tries to Address Flooding Concerns

The Pascagoula City Council will look into ways to help a resident who says his house has flooded seven times due to poor drainage.

The Sun Herald reports Eddie Chandler told the council Tuesday he’s lived in the house for 26 years, and had water 4 feet high during Hurricane Isaac last fall.

City Manager Joe Huffman said the area near I.G. Levy Park does flood, and that mitigation or a buy-out may be the best option.

City Operations Manager Steve Mitchell said three other property owners in that area did agree to a buyout after Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005. But, he added that he’s not sure what funding options are available now. The buyouts were funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Chandler was offered a buyout at the time, but said, “the price I was offered was not feasible to me to accept.”

The city has been looking at the flooding and drainage issue, and will continue to make it a priority, Mayor Jim Blevins said.

“It’s a sad situation,” Blevins said. “I don’t know that we have solutions for you.”