Evacuated residents in Obion County wait for water to recede after severe flooding

OBION COUNTY, Tn., (KBSI) — Some Rives residents are returning home after being evacuated Sunday due to massive flooding in the area. Most are still finding temporary shelter until the water recedes.

On Monday, Fire Chief Campbell Rice estimated the water had gone down two feet since Sunday.

“We still have one breach, and once that’s fixed, we will be able to turn the pumps back on and start pumping the water back out,” he said. “Once that happens, I think that will make a significant difference. If the weather doesn’t hamper us too bad.”

Rives Vice Mayor Craig McCord said it’s going to be a long road to recovery.

“This is the worst this has ever been,” he said. “We’ve had water in homes that have never had water in them before.”

Emergency responders have been giving boat rides to residents who need to check on pets or collect necessities from their homes, like medications.

“We’ve got Lake County Rescue Squad up here helping us,” McCord said. “They’re transporting the electric company and turning power on to who can get the power turned down right now.”

He said the flood waters that displaced more than 250 people from the town, are a result of ongoing problems with the levees.

According to McCord, a different levee broke about a year and a half ago and has not yet been repaired. That’s in addition to the levee failure that occurred over the weekend.

Looking to the future, McCord wants leaders taking action and finding solutions to prevent this from happening again.

“We’ve been working on cleaning out ditches, putting in new culverts, and it just seems like we’re losing — we’re losing the battle,” he said. “We need help.”