Mississippi River is Flooding the Heartland of America
In what is being considered the worst flooding in 80 years in states along the Mississippi River, spring snow melts and heavy rains have resulted in widespread worry and numerous evacuations. Engineers in Louisiana are working around the clock to keep flood waters away from New Orleans and Baton Rouge. The city of New Orleans is still picking up the pieces from the failure of its flood controls during Hurricane Karina in 2005.
A plan is underway to direct some of the water into the Morganza Spillway which will flood farmland in many areas. Up to 25,000 people may have to leave their homes when the spillway is opened and Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal is urging residents to be prepared to flee.
The Morganza Spillway is located about 47 miles upriver from the state capital of Baton Rouge. It is a long channel that can divert water from the Mississippi into another river system. The spillway has only be used once, back during the flooding that occurred in 1973. Last week the US Army Corps of Engineers basted a 2-mile wide hole in an earthen levee in Missouri in order to keep cities and towns in Kentucky and Illinois free from flood waters.
According to the insurance industry in the US, natural disasters have caused over $5 billion worth of damage already this year. The mighty Mississippi has been setting records in cites such as Vicksburg, Mississippi. However, experts report that things would be far worse if it were not for the many levees and spillways in place along the swollen river. These were put into place after the devastating and deadly flood of 1927 that killed over 1,000 people.
The flooding of the Mississippi River is set to go down in history for its calamitous, multi-billion dollar impact on the economy in the Midwest, so says the president of the Insurance Information Institute, Mr. Robert Hartwig. In addition to the many homes and farms being flooded, commerce along the river’s banks will take a direct hit as well which is just as disastrous. Barges will not be able to transport raw goods down the river, which will impact farmers who cannot ship their grain downriver, risking the chance of spoilage.
When the Morganza Spillway is opened, water will inundate thousands of homes and farms in Cajun country. Up to 25 feet of water may overtake some communities but it will help to protect Baton Rouge and New Orleans as well as numerous oil refineries and chemical plants along the lower reaches of the Mississippi.
