Mississippi river crests as worst is finished for Memphis

For the past few several weeks, the Mississippi river has been flooding and battering the American south. The most detrimental of it is over for Memphis, Tenn., as the river has crested near the Music City and floodwaters will only recede from here on. Though Memphis is past the worst of it, several other areas are still in danger of flooding.

Homeless people

Some of Tennessee’s amazing landmarks are just fine, although finished 1,000 people are considered homeless now. BBC states that Music City’s Beale Street district was not hurt by floodwaters at all. The Mississippi has not harmed Graceland, the estate that was the home of Elvis Presley in his later life until his death in 1977. One of the officials of the Shelby County Emergency Management Agency, the county Memphis is located in, was quoted as saying people would be willing to “charge hell with a water pistol” to keep Graceland safe. CBS reports that there have been over 1,300 homes evacuated in fears that the Memphis area could have more flash floods. It will take time for the water to recede back to normal.

Swollen Mississippi crests

After the snowfall near record on the East Coast of the United States, the Mississippi river has gotten very high. There was a 48 feet flood near Memphis though. That is just 10 inches lower than the 1937 record was. Though the worst of the danger is coming to an end in Memphis, there is considerable danger left for the rest of the cities and states along the path of the Mississippi river. Precautions are being taken to make sure that other areas are saved although floodwaters in the Mississippi river system and Mississippi river delta are showing lots of problems already. Pressure on the New Orleans’ levees should be relieved by the Bonnet Carre Spillway, reports MSNBC. The Army Corps of Engineers just opened it up. Floodwaters are already coursing through the delta, but measures are being taken to further prepare the area for the huge volume of water that is heading in that direction.

Not as bad as 1927 floods

The Christian Science Monitor reports that even though the flood levels are bad, they are not as bad as the floods in 1927 killing hundreds and costing millions. Due to the 1927 floods, there were finished 2,000 miles of levees made by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The caveat is that every time a spillway has to be opened to keep flooding from becoming too harmful, other areas are flooded as water is diverted from the bulging Mississippi. As the water gets closer to the Gulf of Mexico and spillways have to open, finished 900,000 acres of farmland in Arkansas is anticipated to flood.

Information from

BBC

bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13337548

MSNBC

msnbc.msn.com/id/42973616/ns/us_news-environment/

CBS

cbsnews.com/stories/2011/05/09/travel/main20061138.shtml

Christian Science Monitor

csmonitor.com/USA/2011/0509/Mississippi-River-nears-crest-in-Memphis-but-concern-shifts-south