There are new flood worries following the U.S. government decision to blast open a Missouri levee to ease pressure on some towns are rippling down the Mississippi River. Memphis is concerned that some 5,300 homes, schools and businesses could be swamped by next week. Memphis, where the Mississippi was at 44 feet Wednesday morning, could see a near-record crest of 48 feet on May 11, inches lower than the record of 48.7 feet in 1937.
Adding to the south's woes are the more than 11 inches of rain that have soaked the Memphis area since April 25. Water from the Wolf and Loosahatchie rivers already has seeped into parts of the suburbs, and some mobile home parks were swamped.
An emergency declaration for 920,000 residents has been declared in Shelby County, where authorities blocked some suburban streets and about 220 people were staying in shelters.
Flooding has begun in Dyersburg, about 70 miles north-northeast of Memphis. Mayor John Holden has ordered an evacuation in parts of that city near the North Fork of the Forked Deer River.
High water has also shut down nine river casinos in northwest Mississippi's Tunica County, where about 600 residents have been evacuated from flood-prone areas on the inside of the levee.
The lower Mississippi River is expected to crest well above flood stages in a region still dealing with the aftermath of last week's deadly tornadoes.
Maj. Gen. Michael Walsh says he understood the frustration at the corps' decision to sacrifice the levee and send a wall of water over 130,000 acres of farmland the state of Missouri tried suing to save.
"But this was one of the relief valves for the system," he added. "We were forced to use that valve."
That calculation to draw down the Mississippi and Ohio rivers in the nation's midsection appeared to do its job. Tuesday night, the Ohio at Metropolis, Ill., measured 54.7 feet - about the same level it had been at the time of the blast. Without that breach, the river was forecast to have steadily crept up to a crest of more than 58 feet.
Walsh authorized a second blast in the levee later Tuesday and a third was been planned for today, though it may be delayed, KFVS-12 reported.
"Our engineers overcame many challenges over the last several days from wind, weather, fatigue," Walsh said according to KFVS-12. "Many worked 24-36 straight hours to accomplish the mission."
Adding to the south's woes are the more than 11 inches of rain that have soaked the Memphis area since April 25. Water from the Wolf and Loosahatchie rivers already has seeped into parts of the suburbs, and some mobile home parks were swamped.
An emergency declaration for 920,000 residents has been declared in Shelby County, where authorities blocked some suburban streets and about 220 people were staying in shelters.
Flooding has begun in Dyersburg, about 70 miles north-northeast of Memphis. Mayor John Holden has ordered an evacuation in parts of that city near the North Fork of the Forked Deer River.
High water has also shut down nine river casinos in northwest Mississippi's Tunica County, where about 600 residents have been evacuated from flood-prone areas on the inside of the levee.
The lower Mississippi River is expected to crest well above flood stages in a region still dealing with the aftermath of last week's deadly tornadoes.
Maj. Gen. Michael Walsh says he understood the frustration at the corps' decision to sacrifice the levee and send a wall of water over 130,000 acres of farmland the state of Missouri tried suing to save.
"But this was one of the relief valves for the system," he added. "We were forced to use that valve."
That calculation to draw down the Mississippi and Ohio rivers in the nation's midsection appeared to do its job. Tuesday night, the Ohio at Metropolis, Ill., measured 54.7 feet - about the same level it had been at the time of the blast. Without that breach, the river was forecast to have steadily crept up to a crest of more than 58 feet.
"Our engineers overcame many challenges over the last several days from wind, weather, fatigue," Walsh said according to KFVS-12. "Many worked 24-36 straight hours to accomplish the mission."
