Memphis breathing easier as Mississippi river crests

The American south has been under siege by the Mississippi river, which has been flooding. Memphis, Tenn., experienced heavy flooding, however residents of the Music City can start breathing easier, as the river has crested. Though Memphis is past the most severe of it, many other areas are still in danger of flooding.

TN landmarks just fine

Some of Tennessee’s amazing landmarks are just fine, although finished 1,000 individuals are considered homeless now. BBC states that Music City’s Beale Street district was not hurt by floodwaters at all. Elvis Presley’s home in his life until he died in 1977, Graceland, was not touched once by the Mississippi. Even if individuals had to “charge hell with a water pistol,” they would keep Graceland safe. This is what a Shelby County Emergency Management Agency official explained. Some 1,300 homes have been evacuated, and there is concern, according to CBS, that pending late spring storms could bring further flash floods in the Memphis area. Normal water will take a while to get. It may be a while before every little thing goes back to normal.

Springtime means flooding

After the snowfall near record on the East Coast of the U.S., 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. Memphis’ most severe danger is nearing an end. Still, other Mississippi river cities have to be cautious. Floodwaters are already coursing through the rest of the Mississippi river system and in the Mississippi river delta, and precautions are being undertaken in order to ensure that the area is safe. MSNBC reports the Army Corps of Engineers opened the Bonnet Carre Spillway recently to help relieve New Orleans’ levees pressure. Measures are being taken to prepare for the water going in that direction, although floodwaters are going through the delta already.

Not as bad as 1927 floods

Though the current flood levels are bad, they are not as bad as the 1927 floods that killed hundreds of people and brought on hundreds of millions of dollars in damage, according to the Christian Science Monitor. Due to the 1927 floods, there were finished 2,000 miles of levees made by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The problem is that when the spillways are opened with the flooding, the Mississippi water just floods someplace else. It is anticipated that 900,000 acres of Arkansas farmland will become flooded as the water moves toward the Gulf of Mexico and spillways are opened along the way.

Articles cited

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