City officials waive demolition penalty for flood victims

VICKSBURG — Vicksburg officials have waived a penalty usually associated with demolition of blighted property for property owners whose homes were damaged by the spring floods and are being demolished by the city.

The Vicksburg Post reported that officials waived for six months the penalty the city charges for demolishing and clearing dilapidated buildings. The waiver can be extended, Mayor Paul Winfield said.

He said the waiver applies only to property owners in areas described as the city’s floodplain area.

Residents in those areas were forced to leave their homes in early May as the Mississippi River rose to a historic 57.1 feet, 14.1 feet above flood stage, and 1.3 feet above the Great Flood of 1927.