The Coast Guard yesterday closed off shipping on the river that had been bound for the port city of Natchez, Miss., saying the weight of the barges could put further pressure on the levees. The river is a key route for moving grain from Midwestern farms to the Gulf of Mexico, so the closure could have a major impact on commerce if it lasts more than a few days
In Greenville, Miss., the river today came to within a finger's length of the highest level ever recorded. But levees protecting the city appear to be holding. In 1927, when the record was set at 65.4 feet, the levees broke.
The river is expected to set new records this weekend in Vicksburg and Natchez, as well as in Baton Rouge and Red River Landing, La. The Army Corps of Engineers has opened three floodways--one in Missouri and two in Louisiana--to ease pressure on the levees and prevent floods in highly populated areas.
"It is very difficult to grasp the idea of the possibility of our communities flooding," Mary Beth Hanks, of New Roads, Louisiana, told CNN. "What would we do? Where do we go?"
A large number of Louisianans, together with more than 4,200 Mississippi residents, have been displaced by the flood. Engineers are now deliberately inundating some towns with floodwater in order to spare more populated communites. The 600-home town of Butte Larose was virtually empty Monday after a voluntary evacuation order.
"We pretty much know our house will be under water so we're trying to save everything we can," Butte Larose resident Brandi Chiassom told local station WGNO.