Obion County declares state of emergency; some residents refusing to leave, risking hypothermia

RIVES, Tn., (KBSI) – Obion County declared a state of emergency, Sunday, after severe flooding. Some residents have refused to evacuate.

Rives Fire Chief Campbell Rice said this is not like other floods they’ve handled.

“We never have seen a storm this bad,” he said. “This is probably the worst, in the 35 years that I’ve been in Rives.”

Rice said they began preparing for the storm on Thursday – setting up pumps.

“Yesterday we were pumping about 4000 gallons a minute out of the city,” Rice said. “This morning — early — it got to the point where it was just kind of rolling back in. So we kind of lost the battle there.”

While some people evacuated the area on their own, Rice said emergency responders pulled out 108 people. Seven of them were transported to the hospital, including one by helicopter.

Both Rice and the Obion County Mayor Steve Carr said hypothermia is the main concern.

“We’re asking people to cooperate with us and to evacuate,” he said. “The electricity’s been cut off over there now, so it’s going to be very cold without heat, but we can’t have the electricity on with the water getting up closer, you know, to the homes.”

Ridgemont Elementary School is being used as a command center and it’s the first stop after evacuation. Residents can be medically evaluated there and receive necessities like food, water, blankets, pillows and even clothing.

A permanent shelter is set up for those who need long-term accommodations at the Woodland Mills Civic Center.

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