No, there wasn’t a dire dam breach and flash flood in Stone County. What happened?
.png "The Hall Lake Dam south of Lake-A-Way Campground in rural Stone County is compromised after days of rain in South Mississippi, and officials were working on April 16, 2021 to make repairs before more rain arrives.")
The alert from the National Weather Service was urgent enough to merit several words in all-caps, multiple exclamation marks, and three bright yellow exclamation sign emojis.
“There is a *FLASH FLOOD EMERGENCY* for a breach in Hall Lake Dam near Lake-A-Way four miles east of Wiggins, MS,” the National Weather Service in Mobile posted on Facebook. “Seek HIGHER GROUND NOW if in this path!”
The post, which called to mind a Biblical flood washing over large swathes of rural Stone County, was shared 559 times and informed a story in at least one local publication.
Forty minutes later, the National Weather Service issued a clarification, which also included words in all-caps, multiple exclamation marks, and three bright yellow exclamation sign emojis.
“After issuance of the *FLASH FLOOD EMERGENCY*, clarification and additional information was given by Emergency Management indicating that there was no actual Dam Break,” the NWS wrote on Facebook. “Thus, the FLASH FLOOD EMERGENCY has been canceled.”
The Stone County Emergency Management Agency Director Raven James told the Sun Herald there was no dam breach, and no one needs to evacuate, though the office is closing John Willis Road south of MS Highway 26 as a precaution.
A staffer at the NWS in Mobile said the office had canceled its initial alert after getting a call back from the Stone County EMA.
In short: There is no furious torrent sweeping like the wrath of God across Stone County’s fields, campgrounds and homes.
How did the miscommunication happen? No one seems to know for sure.
“We’re just as perplexed as you with how… I don’t even know,” said Michael Mugrage, a meteorologist at NWS Mobile. “It’s a very confusing situation.”
At the Stone County EMA, dispatcher Sharon Maulden started getting panicked calls from residents who thought the alert referred to a dam breach at Flint Creek Water Park, where the reservoir is a much larger body of water than Hall Lake. The (incorrect) alert from the NWS actually said that the dam failure would cause flash flooding downstream from the Lake-A-Way Campground south to Flint Creek (the creek, not the water park at the reservoir).
“This is a PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION. SEEK HIGHER GROUND NOW!” the alert on the NWS website said. “IMMEDIATE EVACUATION for areas downstream of the dam.”
As 30 to 50 calls flooded in to Maulden’s office, including from the NWS office in New Orleans and U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, she thought, “Who did this to me?”
What happened at the dam?
One thing is clear: Thanks to heavy rainfall across South Mississippi in the last few days, there were concerns about the Hall Lake Dam on Friday afternoon.
Mugrage said the Mobile office of the NWS got a call from the Stone County EMA at about 3 p.m., which reported there had been a dam breach.
“We took all the information that they gave us and issued the flash flood emergency based on that,” he said.
Hall Lake is 15 to 20 acres, and the depth is 10 to 20 feet, Mugrage said, “so it’ a good bit of water that’s in that lake.”
James, the EMA director in Stone County, said there was a miscommunication.
“I told them, we got a dam that has been compromised,” he said. “We’re trying to find a way to get it down where it wouldn’t disburse. So the dam is not broken.”
Stone County officials called the NWS back at about 4:20 p.m. to report that the dam had not been breached.
James said officials are now pumping the lake to lower the water level so they can do repairs and reduce pressure on the dam.
“Pumps are en route to lessen the pressure on the weak spot,” the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said in a tweet. “We are asking residents in that area to remain vigilant and aware of any flood alerts or warnings.”
Maulden said the county hopes the water will not breach the dam, but that with more rain on the way, it’s possible.
She said it’s hard to predict how much flooding could occur if that happens. Residents in the rural area south of the Lake-A-Way Campgrounds have been notified of the possibility of flooding.
The NWS said two to four inches of rain are expected across Stone County through Saturday evening.
For now, at least, the area is no wetter than the rest of South Mississippi.
“Some wires got crossed on the initial broadcast about the immediate danger of lives,” Maulden said.
