FOR

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Richie McAlister, Assistant to the Mayor
601-604-8954, RichieMcAlister@meridianms.org
www.meridianms.org


Mayor Declares Emergency to Assess Drainage Structure Collapse

MERIDIAN, Miss. After a Sunday night meeting to determine how to deal with a giant
drainage structure collapse that opened in the parking lot at Meridians new IHOP restaurant,
Mayor Percy Bland has embarked on a two-part action plan.

First, the mayor has declared a state of emergency. This allows the city to remove the 14 or
more vehicles that fell into the sinkhole and to bring in outside engineering experts to work
with city employees to determine the cause of the pavement collapse. City crews already have
been working to restore water service to nearby businesses.

Second, Mayor Bland has committed to using every resource at his disposal to help the
restaurant reopen as soon as possible. His administration has prioritized economic
development, and the IHOPs construction is a positive example of such development. The
mayor said he fully understands the restaurants importance not only to its owners but also to
its approximately 100 employees, its suppliers and other companies that do business with it,
and, ultimately, its customers.

Mayor Bland said, Despite the weather conditions, we are moving as fast as we can to access
the situation and determine the cause of the drainage structure collapse. Our biggest concern
right now is the safety of our citizens.

The collapse occurred at approximately 7:15 p.m. Saturday at the IHOP, 200 North Frontage
Road. The brand-new restaurant, the only Meridian location of the international chain, had
been open only a few days. A number of customers were dining inside at the time of the
collapse. Fortunately, no one was hurt.

Mayor Bland and other officials, attorneys and engineers from the city met Sunday night with
IHOP owners to determine the next steps in dealing with the collapse. All agreed on the
urgency of getting the business operating again.

The ditch created as a result of the site collapse, 30 feet wide and 360 feet long, follows the
path of an underground culvert that channeled water to Sowashee Creek. The mayors
emergency order clears the way for the city to remove the vehicles 10 cars, three SUVs and a
pickup truck are visible and assess the collapse.

However, Mayor Bland said he would use his authority, including emergency powers, to do
everything he could to ensure the publics safety and to work with the owners of the restaurant
to get it up and running at the earliest possible date.

For more information about the City of Meridian, visit www.meridianms.org.

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