PERKINSTON, Miss. — Two Stone County residents used their boat to help neighbors and rescue pets after remnants of Tropical Storm Arthur produced heavy rain and widespread flooding on June 18, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said.
MEMA said preliminary assessments identified damage to 121 homes and 34 roads in Stone County. The agency said the American Red Cross established a shelter at Stone County Middle School in Wiggins.
Tim Davenport, 25, and Michael Graham, 22, both grew up in Stone County and said they felt compelled to help as floodwaters rose. Graham, who said he has never seen water like that in Wiggins, and Davenport both work on towboats and spend weekends boating local rivers, giving them confidence on the water.
The pair posted on Facebook offering help and said they began responding to requests across the county. Davenport said someone connected them with the United Cajun Navy, a disaster response organization that coordinates volunteers during disasters. “We were just going from pretty much call to call, whoever called us,” Davenport said.
Davenport estimated they answered more than 15 calls, checked flooded homes, rescued about a dozen pets and helped neighbors through what he called one of the county’s worst recent flooding events. During one rescue, he said, a homeowner became trapped after entering a house with more than 4 feet of water to retrieve dogs. “We had to kick the door in to get him back out of the house,” Davenport said. Both men said reuniting people with their pets was among the most rewarding parts of the effort. After the waters receded, the United Cajun Navy asked if they wanted to continue volunteering; both agreed. “If they call me, I’ll be there, ready to go,” Graham said.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
