WBRZ - Baton Rouge

HAMMOND - Emergency managers in Tangipahoa Parish called for a mandatory evacuation of anyone living along the Tangipahoa River because of damage at a dam in Mississippi.

Authorities also called for an evacuation of the town of Kentwood after a flyover of the area.

Parish emergency officials said Mississippi officials notified them earlier they were afraid the dam was about to fail because of the swollen Lake Tangipahoa at Percy Quinn State Park. They later said the dam was damaged, but had not failed.

Gov. Jindal said this morning Mississippi authorities were considering a controlled breach of the dam, which they estimate would not affect river levels in Louisiana but would raise rivers by 4 feet in Pike County, Miss. If the dam failed, Jindal said the water would raise the river level to an esimated 17 feet, similar to record flooding in 1983 and 1990.

Parish President Gordon Burgess said shelters would be set up in the following locations:

• Hammond West Side Elementary Montessori School
• Hammond Junior High Magnet School
• Natalbany Elementary School
• Nesom Middle School
• Amite High School
• Kentwood High Magnet School