The Latest Breaking News from Chokwe Antar Lumumba

Mississippi's capital has taken a step closer toward restoring normal water service to tens of thousands of customers

WASHINGTON — Flood maps used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency are out of date and understate the risks to homes and businesses from flooding and extreme rain triggered by climate change, FEMA Director Deanne Criswell said.

Residents accuse the largely white state government of neglecting the needs of a city that's 82% Black. White flight in the 1970s devastated the tax base, posing a major challenge to any solution.

The water crisis unfolding in Jackson, Mississippi, was decades in the making: the culmination of crumbling infrastructure, systemic racism and more extreme weather. It’s also a stark warning of trouble to come as climate change piles new stress onto the essential services Americans rely on every day.

Years of neglect, racism and poor infrastructure have created a "constant state of emergency"

For at least the third time in a dozen years, portable toilets are parked outside the ornate Mississippi Capitol because Jackson’s water system is in crisis

In Mississippi’s capital, emergency officials are going to distribute bottled water to residents, a local university is using temporary restrooms for students and people who do have water are boiling it to wash dishes

Flooding exacerbated longstanding problems in a water-treatment plant in Jackson, Miss. The city of 150,000 had already been under a boil-water notice for a month.

Some Jackson residents are moving belongings out of their homes while others are stocking up on sandbags in anticipation of the Pearl River flooding Mississippi’s capital city

Flood stage considered ‘major’ at 26ft, but warning estimate floods to reach 34ft in some areas, while others could see 35.8ft of water

Experts predict the Pearl River near Jackson will crest by Tuesday. Emergency officials are telling people in low-lying areas to prepare for flooding of homes and businesses.