PERKINSTON — The calls kept coming as floodwaters spread across Stone County. Tim Davenport and Michael Graham had never responded to a natural disaster before, but they had something many stranded residents needed: a boat.
According to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, the remnants of Tropical Storm Arthur caused widespread flooding across South Mississippi June 18, damaging homes, businesses, roads and public infrastructure. Preliminary damage assessments identified 121 homes and 34 roads affected in Stone County, and MEMA established a Red Cross shelter at Stone County Middle School in Wiggins.
Davenport, 25, and Graham, 22, both grew up in Stone County and said they felt compelled to help as the floodwaters rose.
“I’ve lived in Wiggins my whole life,” Graham said. “I’ve never seen the water like that in Wiggins.”
Floodwater covers part of U.S. 49 near the 10 Mile Creek bridge in Stone County after heavy rain from the remnants of Tropical Storm Arthur. The flooding forced road closures near Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and disrupted travel as volunteers helped neighbors across the county. Credit: MHP Troop KThe longtime friends spend most weekends boating local rivers and both work on towboats along the Mississippi River, giving them confidence on the water even though neither had ever participated in disaster response.
“You don’t expect water to come up like that,” Davenport said. “And it just all happened so fast. I mean, half of the people there didn’t have boats. And we just, it’s something we do every weekend.”
As the flooding worsened, Davenport said they posted on Facebook offering assistance and soon began receiving requests from across the county.
“We were just going from pretty much call to call, whoever called us,” Davenport said. “We’d just go and see if we could get to them.”
Davenport said someone also connected the pair with the United Cajun Navy, a disaster response organization that helps coordinate volunteers during natural disasters.
“When stuff like that happens, (the United Cajun Navy) helps with really anything recoveries (related),” Davenport said. “They’re real supportive in situations like that.”
Davenport estimated they responded to more than 15 calls, checking flooded homes, rescuing about a dozen pets and helping neighbors navigate one of the county’s worst flooding events in recent memory.
A state trooper walks through floodwater on Mississippi Highway 26 east of Wiggins near Rosalee Road after a vehicle was swept off the roadway in Stone County. Flooding caused by heavy rain from the remnants of Tropical Storm Arthur prompted local volunteers Tim Davenport and Michael Graham to use their boat to help neighbors check homes and rescue pets. Credit: MHP Troop KDuring one rescue, Davenport said a homeowner entered a house with more than 4 feet of water inside to retrieve his dogs but became trapped.
“We had to kick the door in to get him back out of the house,” Davenport said.
Davenport said many owners waited anxiously for them to return with their pets.
“A lot of the people who owned the dogs that we saved were waiting on us to get back with the dogs, and they were all very emotional when we got back with their pets,” Davenport said.
He said helping reunite families with their pets became one of the most rewarding parts of the experience.
“Dogs are like family,” Davenport said. “It’s basically another family member out there stranded. We were just trying to help people get their belongings and pets back.”
For Graham, volunteering was simply about using the equipment and experience they already had to help their community.
“Just knowing I had the ability to do it and had the equipment to do it,” Graham said.
After the floodwaters receded, the United Cajun Navy asked Davenport and Graham whether they wanted to continue volunteering with the organization.
“We told them, yeah, because, I mean, it was honestly a bad situation,” Davenport said. “We talked about it, and we enjoyed doing it.”
Graham said he hopes they can help again if another disaster strikes.
“If they call me, I’ll be there, ready to go,” Graham said.
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