VIDALIA — The City of Vidalia is expected to close out the year with the declaration of a state of emergency in advance of a near-record crest coming down the Mississippi River.

If it does, the declaration will follow a day after the State of Louisiana did so and two days after Concordia Parish’s Homeland Security office made a similar declaration.

The Vidalia Board of Aldermen will meet at noon today with only one item on the special-called agenda, “Mississippi River flood issues.”

City officials have already been involved in planning for a flood response, but this is the first time the full board will have met since the prediction of a 60-foot crest was released earlier this week. The crest was initially projected for Jan. 18, but Wednesday was revised for Jan. 17.

During the meeting today, Mayor Hyram Copeland will give the board members a rundown of the city’s preparation plan in addition to declaring the state of emergency, Vidalia Public Relations Director Sheri Rabb said.

Flood stage at Vidalia is 48 feet. The only time the river has been higher in recorded history was in 2011, when water inundated the Vidalia riverfront and reached the levee at 61.95 feet.

In Adams County, Emergency Management Director Robert Bradford has indicated the county will declare a state of emergency early next week, and Natchez city officials have said the city has a flood management plan for the areas that will be impacted.

National Weather Service Hydrologist Marty Pope said Wednesday the projected crests are holding fairly steady, and that some flood relief structures used in 2011 may not be accessible this time.

“We have seen where the Old River structure may have some pull on the crest, but right now we have so much water coming down the Red and Ouachita rivers, which go into the Atchafalaya River, that the Old River structure may not be able to divert as much water as they did in 2011. There’s no guarantee they would be able to pull that much flow down.”

If the crest can be lowered using flood control reservoirs, it will depend on little to no rain in the river system areas that feed into the Mississippi River at Cairo, Ill., he said.

“If we don’t get anything between now and then, they could possibly lower the crest at Cairo, but to knock the crest off at all by holding water in those reservoirs is the only thing (that can be done) right now.”

The river is projected to reach flood stage Sunday at 48 feet on the Natchez. It is expected to stand at 45.7 feet this morning, and should rise approximately a foot a day for the next four days.

A few areas are already being impacted by the rising river.

Thornburg Lake Road in Anna’s Bottom in Northern Adams County — where some agricultural interests are located — starts to take on water at 43 feet, while at 44 feet areas around Lake Mary are inundated.

At 45 feet, some buildings in the Wilkinson County community of Fort Adams are impacted by the floodwaters. The Concordia Parish areas of Deer Park and Minorca are likewise affected by the high water prior to flood stage.

The former Belwood Country Club near the Natchez-Adams County Port takes on water at 47 feet. Carthage Point Road, which is near the Belwood property, is likewise inundated at that point.

At 59 feet, the Vidalia Riverfront is flooded, though the structures there are still above water at that point.