Mississippi flooding forces evacuations at assisted living facility

Photography by Keith Getter (all rights reserved)/Getty Images

(NEW YORK) -- Torrential rain has been pounding Mississippi, sparking flooding and forcing evacuations from an assisted living home and a day care.

Dozens of seniors were evacuated Wednesday from the Peach Tree Village assisted living facility in Brandon, Mississippi, just outside of Jackson, after fast-moving waters rose halfway up the doors, officials said. Firefighters pulled residents to safety by using ropes to cross the waist-deep waters.

Several towns saw 5 to 10 inches of rainfall.

Just east of Jackson, residents saw a whopping 13.42 inches of rain on Wednesday.

Flood watches remain in effect across the Gulf Coast from Texas to Florida.

Some of the heaviest rain Thursday afternoon is moving into southern Mississippi, Mobile and Pensacola, where rainfall rates are climbing to 2 to 3 inches per hour. That rain is hitting some spots that were already drenched by 6 inches of rain on Wednesday.

ABC News' Daniel Amarante and Melissa Griffin contributed to this report.

Thursday, August 25, 2022 at 10:34AM by Emily Shapiro, ABC News Permalink