"Hundreds of Dams Lack Emergency Plans in NC, Rain-Soaked South"

"When recent heavy rains swelled a private Mississippi lake and began eroding its earthen dam, Yazoo County Emergency Management Director Jack Willingham was scrambling for a plan.

He had no contact information for any of the homeowners who might need to evacuate, so he drove to the scene and began knocking on doors.

“I was just fortunate that this was a small area and I was able to do it on my own, door-to-door, grunt work,” Willingham said."

David A. Lieb, Michelle Minkoff, and Sudhin Thanawala report for the Associated Press February 20, 2020.