MUSKOGEE, Okla. — As Green Country works to clean up from last week’s major floods, the Mayor of Muskogee doesn’t want people to let their guard down when it comes to scams.
He says despite all the good in his community, it’s possible some people may still try to take advantage of those in need.
Three days after water overtook parts of his city, Muskogee mayor Marlon Coleman has a clearer picture of the damage done.
“We’ve had flooding like we’ve never seen,” Coleman said. “It’s pretty bad, there’s no polite way to asses it.”
He likens it to what the city experienced three years ago.
“It almost rivals the 2019 flood,” he said.
But this flood seemed to take more people by surprise.
“It’s a lot different,” Coleman said. “We got seven to 10 inches of rain in an hour and a half.”
A lot of it came in neighborhoods which he says have never experienced something like this, or ever thought they would.
“We’ve got people in neighborhoods now that are still venting their homes, and they’ve never had to do that,” he said.
Places like the Meadows neighborhood, where FOX23 showed you Friday the good the storm has brought out. Friends and neighbors came together to help people salvage what they could.
“We’ve got a pretty good community,” Coleman said. “Muskogee is a very giving, kind community.”
But in times of hardship, there can still be bad actors.
“There are a number of --’pop-ups’ I call them—donation outlets that have not been authorized by anyone,” he said. “We don’t know how those funds or supplies are even being distributed.”
He says it’s important if you’re looking to help--or be helped--to do one thing first.
“I think it was Ronald Reagan who always said trust but verify,” he said.
He says you can trust anything posted to his Mayor of Muskogee Facebook page --or the city or emergency management’s pages-- has been verified.
Beginning on Sunday, the city and emergency management will be going door to door in affected areas to educate everyone about the legitimate assistance available to them.
“We’re trying to be coordinated because the storm has caught so many people off guard that we need a unified effort,” Coleman said.
A unified effort – to show the world just who Muskogee is.
“We’ve got volunteers almost everywhere in the city, in neighborhoods that are not their own being certain that people can put their lives back together,” Coleman said. “It’s a very proud moment for all of us.”