Gov. Haley Barbour has declared a state of emergency today after a dam on Big Bay Lake burst, inundating homes and forcing road closures.
Officials said the dam was last inspected in June 2000. This morning a private engineer reportedly had been called to the dam to investigate a leak, but had said the structure appeared safe, officials said.
People in surrounding areas have been evacuated from their homes.
So far no deaths or injuries have been reported but some homes have been reportedly washed away. Big Bay Lake, located 6 miles southeast of Marion County, is a privately owned manmade lake, covering about 1,100 acres.
The latest figures from the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency show 12 mobile homes destroyed and 43 homes damaged. Two barns and three storage buildings were damaged and a bridge was washed out.
MEMA spokesman Lea Crager said the 5:45 p.m. report does not include any information on whether anyone in the area is unaccounted for.
Former Lamar County Supervisor Bill Bishop, whose district in the mid-1990s included the Big Bay Lake development, said he saw flood waters 30 feet deep and a small house washed away on Purvis to Columbia Road shortly after the dam broke.
The Bay Creek dam is located just north of the Purvis to Columbia Road.
Chip Gibson, who works with Southeast Aviation at the Bobby Chain Airport said he flew over the scene Friday and it appeared Big Bay Lake had been completely drained.
"Based on my observations from the aircraft, about a 150 to 200 foot section of the dam was gone," he said.
Gibson said he could see several houses that were flooded, and a section of roofing was wedged against a bridge that was underwater. One house was on higher ground and appeared to be cut off from road access, he told the Hattiesburg American.