http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1096759/posts DAM BREAKS IN SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI, FLOODING DOZENS OF HOMES
AP Breaking News ^ | 12 March 2004
Posted on 03/12/2004 10:35:39 PM EST by MeneMeneTekelUpharsin
PURVIS, Miss. (AP) - A dam holding back an 1,100 acre lake in southern Mississippi broke on Friday, damaging dozens of homes and several roads in two counties, authorities said. Following the failure of the Big Bay Lake dam, state emergency officials found 43 homes damaged and 12 mobile homes destroyed. Gov. Haley Barbour declared a state of emergency for Marion and Lamar counties.
Officials had not determined whether anyone was missing or injured, search crews were going door to door in areas below the dam, west of Purvis. Chip Gibson, a local pilot, said when he flew over the area it appeared the lake had been completely drained. "About a 150- to 200-foot section of the dam was gone," he told The Hattiesburg American newspaper.