Severe storms last week dumped up to 6-inches of rain on parts of Mississippi, causing widespread flooding in over 30 counties across the state. While Newton County was largely unaffected, with only a few rural roads damaged by water, Decatur residents Don and Rita Myers were dismayed to learn their cabin at Neshoba Fairgrounds fell victim to the rain.
“We just bought it last month,” Rita said. “We rented it last year and enjoyed it. So, we bought it last month, and then the flood came today.”
The two-story cabin was saturated with a layer of mud after a rush of water at the fairgrounds covered the parade grounds and flowed into the nearby structures. Sweeping out mud with a broom, Don Myers said he learned about the flooding after a friend sent him pictures of white water gushing over a bridge just feet away from the newly purchased cabin. Seeing the water, he said, he and Rita rushed to the fairgrounds to assess the damage.
“Most of the water had gone down when we got here, but we had been sent pictures, and we thought, ‘Oh my gosh, look at all that water. It’s bound to be in the cabin,’” Rita said.
Once the mud has been cleaned up and the ground dries up a bit, the Myers plan to assess the damage to see how badly the flooding affected their cabin.
However, the Myers are not letting a bit of mud and water dampen their excitement for the fair.
“It’s a prime location, so we’re happy with it,” Rita said. “We’ve just got some mud on the floor we’ve got to clean up. We were planning on doing some remodeling anyway, so I’m just glad we hadn’t already done it.”
If anything, Rita said, the flood has given her a push to start work renovating the cabin and adding a third story. While there is plenty of work to do, she said the cabin will be back to its full glory before the first campers start to arrive.
“We’ll be ready for the fair this year,” she said.
