Lauderdale County: Recovery
continues on flood anniversary

By By Steve Gillespie / staff writer
April 5, 2004
Lauderdale County is still recovering from floods that roared through the area one year ago including continued repairs and the possible buyout of damaged homes.
Some of the hardest hit neighborhoods in Meridian and Lauderdale County included Old Eighth Street Road, Windsor Circle, several homes along Highway 19 North, and the Eagle Pointe and Fox Run subdivisions.
Several bridges were washed out and had to be replaced, including those on Cotton Gin Road, Mt. Carmel Road and Gum Log Road.
Neal Carson, Lauderdale County engineer, said the bridge on Beaver Pond Road still hasn't been restored completely. The newly built Q.V. Sykes sports complex also was damaged by flooding and high winds.
One good outcome from the bridges being damaged, he said, is that bigger and better culverts are replacing the old ones.
On Tuesday, the Lauderdale County Board of Supervisors will host a public meeting at 5:30 p.m. in the board room of the Raymond P. Davis courthouse annex for property owners interested in participating in a flood buyout program.
The Hazard Mitigation Grant Program uses federal money to help communities recover from a disaster and reduce the risk of it happening again by buying flood-damaged homes at the current fair market price based on the appraised value of the damaged homes.
Buyout projects are 75 percent funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and are administered by state and local communities that make up the difference in the cost.
Property purchased through the program would have to be used as public property, such as parks or wetlands.
The highest priority for people who may qualify for the buyout program will be with people who have received substantial or repetitive damage from more than one flood.
For more information about the public meeting, call the Lauderdale County Permit Office at 484-3992. For more information about federal residential buyout program visit the FEMA Web site at www.fema.gov/fima/hmgp/buyouts.shtm.