Waveland, right on the coast, reported 52 people missing, they couldn't find any bodies for those folks because they were washed out to sea.

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Bad news from Jackson County, MS.

My brother just called to find out some info about the weather. Serious flooding has already occured in Gulf Park Estates area of Ocean Springs, cutting off some residents from escape, and no one in that area seems to know anything about Rita's surge. There are people camping out on their slabs in tents, all along those tiny subdivisions along the coast there in the west county. A lot of the coastal areas, if houses are left habitable, don't have power. Also my brother said the land lines went out today so no one has any phone service, that includes the sheriff's dept.

They have no teletype or any way to have received any info from the NWS.

So he did not know about the high tide/surge being caused by Rita. I let him know to expect 5-8 ft. The trouble is I don't know how much of that has already arrived and how bad its going to get. I'm afraid people are going to have problems overnight and not know about the flooding until it is happening to them.

He said that they are getting a stiff SW breeze over 20mph.

My brother did notice this aft before he went to work: water washing over Beach Blvd in Pascagoula. He didn't know about getting this much water though.

Right now he's trying to pick his way around into these areas if he can get in, to see if anyone needs to be rescued. He couldn't get into Gulf Park because all the roads to get in there are already underwater; he just took a causeway to the next subdivision to the east to try to see if he finds anyone there.

I have to think that the water is going to continue to rise some more tonight? Looks like they're going to get more water than was mentioned in the warnings (warnings that no one down there could receive).