Mississippi governor declares state of emergency ahead of massive flooding

So far, the state has deployed 126,000 sandbags and put search and rescue teams on standby. Additionally, the Mississippi emergency management agency has drones in the air to assess water levels along the Pearl River.

Suzannah Thames, who owns a rental home in Jackson that was filled with dirty, snake-infested flood water when the Pearl River overflowed its banks in 2020, spoke with the Associated Press.

Thames said the rental home is covered by flood insurance, and she lives in an elevated house nearby. She said her house is built 4ft (1.2 meters) above the line of a massive 1979 flood.

Meanwhile, a triple-digit heatwave in the Pacific north-west last month caused at least four deaths as climate change continues to fuel longer heat spells in a region where such occurrences are rare.