BATON ROUGE – Governor Jindal declared a state of emergency today in Louisiana to prepare for possible flooding as the Mississippi river swells past flood stage.
Jindal made the announcement from the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness around noon.
Storms and heavy rain up-river have already caused flooding in Missouri and Arkansas, and forecasters have predicted the Mississippi will crest at Vicksburg at its highest point since 1937 on May 13.
In his declaration, Jindal said the National Weather Service had issued flood alerts along the length of the Mississippi, and predicted the river will crest well above flood stage in many locations.
Jindal also said the State Penitentiary at Angola had begun implementing flood protection measures to protect inmates, staff and residents, and that several northern Louisiana parishes had already declared states of emergency to prepare for possible flooding.
Flood emergency in Lousiana
I’m sure he’ll ask for federal assistance in 3, 2, 1 . . .
It won’t be just NOLA, either.
The Memphis area was happy to have “dodged a bullet” on April 27th, but all the sandbags and materiel are staying in place until the end of May– because of what this article outlines. I took a ride out to the Mississippi River last night, after the rains had stopped– it is ridiculously high. I moved down here eight years ago, and that Spring was noted as being a “record flooding” year– 2003. It is much higher this year. Can’t get near the “normal” shoreline by a long shot. Mind you, Memphis is the High-Side of the River– we’re on a bluff.
The Millington and Nashville floods were extra severe last year because we got 15 inches of rain in about two hours’ time. We received that same amount this past two days. Had it continued like that for another 24 hours we’d have been inundated. I was in the middle of digging a hole to plant an apple tree when the rainstorms started. 24 hours after the rains have stopped, the hole is STILL filled with water, and my septic field is not draining, so I have to limit flushes, and laundry is out of the question. The West Tennessee hardpan soil simply won’t take it. The bottom of that hole is ROCK HARD. I tried to dig more, this evening, thinking the hard clay would be all soft and gooey, and ready to dig… WRONG.
Eight inches down, and it still might as well be rock.
We have more rain coming this weekend. Before any of this gets to NOLA– it will hit Memphis first.
Here’s a cool site from the Army Corps of Engineers– Rivergages: http://www2.mvr.usace.army.mil/WaterControl/stationinfo2.cfm?sid=BCM10&fid&dt=S
^^^Water levels everywhere they have monitors. I think the link goes to my local Big Creek (Flood Stage 27 feet, was at 35 feet yesterday afternoon).
At any rate, the idea of the “100-Year Flood” is right out, now. This flooding is going to be very widespread within a few weeks, if we keep getting this much rain at these close intervals.
I’ll try and snap you some pics, perhaps tonight, of the Mississippi River.
–mf
Stay safe.
This is what happens when you replace forests and prairie grasses and wetlands with asphalt parking lots, roads and crapbox tract homes — the runoff has no place to go except down the storm sewers and into the creeks and rivers. But as long as the bankers are making money, it doesn’t matter how we use our land, right? What a gang of idiot vampires are running this place.
Mother nature will rule in the end; her rules are immutable.