Greenville officials said the city’s coordinated response helped limit damage and disruption from last week’s ice storm but warned residents the danger is not over as temperatures drop again and black ice and falling trees remain a threat.
At an emergency management briefing with the City Council, Washington County Emergency Management, city department heads and first responders outlined what worked, what still isn’t back to normal and what residents can do to help themselves and their neighbors.
Emphasis on damage reporting and aid
Washington County Emergency Management’s David Burford urged residents and businesses to file online damage assessments so local losses can be included in state and federal disaster calculations. Citizens are being directed to deltaready.us/winterstorm to self‑report, upload photos and list both residential and commercial damage, including leaks and interior problems that may not be visible from the street. Burford said only about a dozen reports, including two from businesses, had been filed so far and stressed that the numbers must increase to support a federal disaster declaration.
Burford thanked the governor for quickly declaring a state of emergency for hard‑hit areas but said “we need to do what we need to do here at the local level” by documenting damage across homes, farms, industry and local government.
City workers, shelters and public safety
Emergency management staffer Sarah Hester, who has led much of the city’s social media outreach, praised city and county crews who have been working around the clock in freezing conditions, often while facing criticism online. She said many workers “have not slept” and some have gone days without a proper meal, yet return to the streets each morning before most residents are awake.
Hester said multiple warming shelters are operating in the most heavily affected areas and urged residents to use them even briefly to pick up water or supplies, particularly if they are caring for disabled or homebound relatives. She asked residents to explain their situation to shelter workers, who can send bottled water and other essentials back home when people cannot evacuate family members.
Officials also raised concerns about unsafe driving, especially when emergency vehicles are trying to reach patients or helicopter landing zones. Hester described a recent incident in which joyriders on icy roads slowed an ambulance escort headed to a helicopter at the convention center and said similar delays happened twice in one day. Residents were urged to stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary and to begin making personal preparedness lists—flashlights, fuel and family‑specific needs—for future storms and tornado season.
The storm has caused at least two gas station canopy collapses in Greenville, with serious injuries at one, and additional collapses reported in Cleveland, Benoit, Tutwiler and other Delta communities. Hester warned that metal canopies are not designed to bear heavy ice loads and advised drivers to avoid fueling under them when possible and to leave immediately if they hear creaking or other warning sounds. Carbon monoxide calls are on the rise statewide, and residents running gas logs or propane heaters were told to use carbon monoxide detectors.
Fire, police and public works updates
Greenville Fire Chief Reuben Brown said the city’s advance planning paid off and that the department saw “a minimum amount of calls,” with the most serious being the two gas station canopy collapses. He cautioned that the period after the storm may be “one of the most dangerous times” because of hidden electrical problems, slips and falls and the continuing risk of fires as temperatures again drop.
Brown said the department has also been assisting neighboring towns, delivering meals and helping coordinate relief in Arcola, Silver City, Hollandale and other communities still in need of water, toiletries, blankets and nonperishable food. Donations can be dropped off at Central Fire Station, 532 Central, or arranged by calling 662‑378‑1616.
Police Chief Marcus Turner, speaking remotely, said main travel routes around Greenville, particularly near Lowe’s and Walmart, are in decent shape but many city streets remain hazardous, with black ice and overhanging trees still falling or leaning over the roadway. Turner urged drivers who must travel to slow down, avoid reckless driving and stay alert around tree‑covered streets, noting that the department continues to log storm‑related incidents in its computer‑aided dispatch system for future reference.
From the Water Department, officials reported only three burst‑pipe calls—two on Sunday and one Monday—and said the city will not cut off water service during the cold spell. Residents were advised to keep faucets dripping to prevent frozen lines, with one official telling them they would “rather pay a bill than have plumbing issues” from broken pipes.
Public Works Director Ronnie Washington said Greenville’s water system held steady at about 60 psi throughout the storm, with no pressure loss and no municipal building pipe breaks, crediting recent investments by the council and engineers. Crews began clearing snow, ice and downed trees early Sunday and have been repeatedly sanding bridges, the levee, nursing home access points and other trouble spots as temperatures fall each night and refreeze the roads. Washington said roughly 10 or 11 trees have fallen so far and asked residents to call 662‑378‑1546 to report trees blocking roadways so crews can respond.
The levee remains closed and will stay shut until ice is gone. Garbage collection is suspended because the regional landfill, which sits on an incline, is closed and neighborhood streets remain too slick for heavy trucks, which city leaders called “$400,000 machines” they cannot risk losing. The mayor said the city does not expect garbage trucks to resume routes until Monday due to another wave of winter weather forecast this weekend.
Regional help and community response
Officials highlighted assistance flowing across the Delta, including tanker trucks from Leland carrying water to Hollandale and Arcola to help with flushing systems. Greenville leaders said they are also working to respond to newly reported needs in Glen Allan and other smaller communities that tagged the city on social media once their problems became known.
Local churches, civic groups and businesses have supplied food, water and shelter, with Sacred Space and the denominational ministerial alliance operating warming centers in the city and other centers open in Arcola and Hollandale. The mayor thanked Walmart and other corporate partners for donations and cited volunteer efforts such as large pots of soup prepared for residents and outreach by the Mississippi Center for Human Rights to assist families.
Emergency officials repeatedly warned that, despite some melting, the region is likely to see refreezing and dangerous black ice each night, especially during the morning commute. Forecasts presented at the meeting indicated temperatures could remain below freezing on Saturday, meaning icy neighborhood streets and county roads may persist into next week. Residents were urged to monitor Washington County Emergency Management’s updates and the deltaready.us/winterstorm page for changing conditions, resources and guidance.
