Mississippi flood 2011
The 2011 Mississippi flood was a flood on the Mississippi , which in many places reached the highest water levels since 1927 and which affected an area larger than Italy . In mid-April 2011, two strong storms and thunderstorms moved across the catchment area of the river and discharged heavy precipitation . Together with the annual snowmelt , the electricity reached record levels in early May. Areas with widespread flooding included Illinois , Missouri , Kentucky , Tennessee , Arkansas , Mississippi, and Louisiana . President Barack Obama declared the counties in western Kentucky and Mississippi to be federal disaster areas. In the state of Arkansas, at least 14 people were killed by the effects of the flood as of May 10. The authorities ordered evacuations for thousands of houses. Authorities believe that the flood disrupted 13% of refinery production. The high tide levels exceeded the historical record levels in several places.
The tidal wave peaked in Memphis , Tennessee on May 10; the flood reached southern Louisiana around May 23rd. The United States Army Corps of Engineers announced in advance that the area between Simmesport , Louisiana and Baton Rouge , Louisiana would be flooded 6 to 9 meters, even if the flood relief channels were opened.
background
Between April 14 and 16, the storm and thunderstorm system, which is responsible for one of the largest tornado outbreaks in the United States , generated large amounts of rainfall in the southern states and the Midwest . Two weeks later, from April 25th to 28th, a second storm front hit the Mississippi valley and brought further heavy rainfall with it, which led to flash floods . These storms resulted in more than 250 tornadoes, killing 354 residents of the affected states. A total of 397 people were killed by the two storm systems and the property damage caused was estimated at around 5 billion US dollars. The extraordinary amounts of precipitation from the two storm fronts, together with the simultaneous melting of snow in the upper Midwest, created the starting point for an increase in the water level of the Mississippi and its tributaries, which is unusual even for this time of the year.
Missouri and Illinois
On May 3, the US Army Corps of Engineers blew up a 3.5 km section of levees along the New Madrid Floodway , submerging 530 km² of farmland in Mississippi County , Missouri. This action was taken to save the city of Cairo , Illinois from a record-breaking flood. More than 200 residents of New Madrid and Mississippi Counties were forced to leave their homes after a federal court approved the proposed measure on April 30.
The bridge over which US Highways 60 and 62 run from Cairo to Missouri had to be closed.
Tennessee
In Dyersburg , a town on the Forked Deer River in northwest Tennessee, more than 600 homes and businesses were flooded as the waters of the Mississippi tributary poured into the southern areas of the city. In Memphis, Tennessee, the 5,200 residents of upscale Harbor Town were evacuated. Harbor Town is located on Mud Island in central Memphis. On May 5, the river reached a water level of 13.5 m, the highest level in Memphis since 1937, when the river reached a water level of 14.8 m. The tidal wave peaked in Memphis on May 10th at a water level of 14.6 m. Numerous local watercourses have also overflowed , including Big Creek, Loosahatchie River, and Wolf River with Nonconnah Creek , flooding Millington and suburban areas in Frayser , Bartlett, and East Memphis .
Arkansas
In addition to numerous local roads, Interstate 40 , which connects Memphis, Tennessee and Little Rock , Arkansas, was flooded west of Memphis in a section on the White River between Hazen and Brinkley, so that both lanes had to be closed. Are blocked and the had to US Highway 67 in Pocahontas and the US Highway 63 between Portia and Hoxie .
Mississippi
In Tunica County , nine casinos on anchored ships were closed; the hotel buildings on the banks of the casinos were inundated by the rising water. On May 5th, the first floor of the Harrah's Casino Tunica hotel was about two meters under water. At Vicksburg , Highway 465 in Warren County and Issaquena Counties was closed on May 5 due to flooding.
On May 5, the state governor, Haley Barbour , announced that the federal government of the United States had declared eleven counties along the Mississippi River to be federal disaster areas and that he had requested the American federal government to grant this status to additional counties. On May 7th, thirteen Mississippi counties were declared disaster areas: Adams , Bolivar , Claiborne , Coahoma , DeSoto , Issaquena, Jefferson , Sharkey , Tunica , Warren , Washington , Wilkinson and Yazoo counties .
The predicted high water peak for Vicksburg and Natchez was above the record highs of the 1927 flood .
Louisiana
The rising water level endangered the Old River Control Structure in northern Louisiana. This structure serves to limit the amount of water that can flow from the Mississippi into the Atchafalaya . The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opened the first portion of the Morganza Spillway , a flood relief canal , on May 14th to reduce water levels and runoff at the Old River Control Structure and further downstream. Further gates of the facility, which consists of 125 individually operated weirs, were opened in the following days. Operators expected on May 16 to open 31 weirs with constant runoff estimates to provide the necessary relief for the Old River Control Structure and the dams around Baton Rouge and New Orleans. The failure of one of these two structures could have resulted in the Mississippi moving its main arm into the Atchafalaya riverbed or into the Atchafalaya Basin , creating a new river delta south of Morgan City in southern Louisiana, while at the same time the flow of the current main arm through Baton Rouge and New Orleans to the current river delta in the southeastern part of the state decreased dramatically. Weather Underground's Jeff Masters warned that failure of the Old River Control Structure "would be a major blow to the US economy and that the great Mississippi flood of 2011 will pose [this hydraulic structure] its greatest challenge yet." The Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) opened the Bonnet Carré Spillway , a relief channel from the Mississippi River to Lake Pontchartrain west of New Orleans. For New Orleans, the National Weather Service predicted a peak height of the flood of 19.5 m. The city is protected by dikes up to a flood height of 20 m.
The peak of the flood did not reach the extent feared, so that a maximum of 17 gates were opened on the Morganza Spillway and the barrier structure could be completely closed again on July 7, 2011. The Bonnet Carre Spillway was closed again on June 20th.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Levee breach Lowers river, but record flooding shut forecast (English) . In: CNN , May 3, 2011.
- ↑ Court approves breaching of Birds Point levee (English) , KSDK Cairo, Ill .. April 30, 2011. Accessed May 10, 2011th
- ^ Hundreds of Structures Underwater in Dyersburg . In: WREG Memphis .
- ^ Mud Island residents watch as river rises . In: WMC , May 5, 2011. Archived from the original on May 6, 2011 Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .
- ↑ Mississippi flood: Southern states brace for crest (English) . In: BBC News , May 11, 2011.
- ↑ Man drowned in floodwaters in eastern Arkansas (English) . In: Associated Press , May 5, 2011. Retrieved May 10, 2011.
- ↑ Kenneth Heard: River floods 100 homes; state's death toll at 14 ( English ) Arkansas Online 0124. April 30, 2010. Accessed May 10, 2011th
- ↑ Rising waters flood Tunica casinos (English) . In: WMC , May 10, 2011. Archived from the original on June 10, 2013 Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved May 5, 2011.
- ↑ Mississippi Floods 2011: Highway 465 to Close Tonight at 7:00 pm ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Federal Disaster Declaration Granted for Several Counties Along Mississippi River ( Memento of the original of May 8, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Mississippi Flooding, Emergency Declared (EM-3320)
- ^ In Mississippi Delta, All Eyes on a Swelling River (English) , The New York Times . May 6, 2011. Retrieved May 10, 2011.
- ^ Paul Rioux: Morganza Floodway opens to divert Mississippi River away from Baton Rouge, New Orleans . The Times-Picayune, May 14, 2011
- ↑ Katie Kannedy, Jason Brown: Planning for High Water , 2theadvocate.com 16 May, 2011
- ^ Jeff Masters: Mississippi River sets all-time flood records; 2nd major spillway opens ( English ) Weatherunderground.com. May 9, 2011. Retrieved May 10, 2011.
- ↑ US Army Corps of Engineers: Morganza Floodway ( Memento of the original from January 11, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed August 1, 2011
- ↑ nola.com: Last gates at Bonnet Carre Spillway closed , June 20, 2011
