Courtesy: "Guardian, UK", 15 May 2011
Thousands of homes sacrificed to save New Orleans from Mississippi floods
Reuters in Morganza
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Thousands of homes sacrificed to save New Orleans from Mississippi floods
Opening of floodgate should also spare Louisiana's capital but leaves farms, oil refinery and wildlife refuge in path of deluge
US army engineers have opened a key floodgate to allow the swollen Mississippi river to flood thousands of homes and crops but spare New Orleans and Louisiana's capital, Baton Rouge.
The engineers opened one of the 125 floodgates at the Morganza Spillway 45 miles north-west of Baton Rouge on Saturday, sending a flume of water on to nearby fields.
The move, last taken in 1973, will channel floodwaters towards homes, farms, a wildlife refuge and a small oil refinery in the Atchafalaya river basin to avoid inundating Louisiana's two largest cities.
Weeks of heavy rains and runoff from an unusually snowy winter caused the Mississippi to rise, flooding 1.2m hectares (3m acres) of farmland in Mississippi, Tennessee and Arkansas and evoking comparisons to historic floods in 1927 and 1937.
It could take three weeks for the enormous flow of water to pass through a system of levees and spillways to the Gulf of Mexico about 100 miles to the south, said Major General Michael Walsh, president of the Mississippi River Commission.
"It's putting tremendous pressure on the entire system as we try to work this amount of water through the Mississippi river tributaries," Walsh said before the floodgates opened.
Some 3,000 square miles of land could be inundated in up to six metres of water for several weeks. When flows peak around 22 May, the spillway will carry about 3,500 cubic metres per second, about one quarter of its capacity.
About 2,500 people live in the floodpath, and 22,500 others, with 11,000 buildings, could be affected by backwater flooding – the water pushed back into streams and tributaries that cannot flow normally into what will be an overwhelmed Atchafalaya river.
Some 7,300 hectares of farmland could be flooded as waters rise, peaking in about a week and remaining high for several weeks before subsiding.
"The land's going to wash away, but that's life," said Hurlin Dupre, who represents Krotz Springs on the St Landry parish council. "The worst of it is we are in a drought and we can't use none of that water."
Failing to open the floodgate would have put New Orleans at risk of flooding that, according to computer models, would eclipse that seen during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, when 80% of the city was flooded. About 1,500 people died in the disaster.
Lower Mississippi flooding threatened densely populated areas, up to eight refineries and at least one nuclear power plant alongside the river.
The refineries account for about 12% of the nation's capacity for making petrol and other fuels.
In the Atchafalaya river basin, authorities went door to door to begin evacuations in small towns and parishes in the path of the water, which could take weeks to reach the Gulf of Mexico.
Louisiana's governor, Bobby Jindal, said on Friday that the state had plans with the American Red Cross to provide shelters for evacuees. "I'm very scared," said Heidi Fangue, a Morganza resident. "I have my bags packed and ready to go."
Fangue, who was selling T-shirts that read "Morganza Spillway [floodgate] 2011 – Gates finally opened," said she would depart in her mother's camper van once floodwaters began to creep over the nearby levee.
In Morgan City to the south, workers were reinforcing levees and placing sandbags along the Atchafalaya river.
"The fatigue factor is something we'll have to watch for, both on the levees and on the people," said Morgan City mayor Tim Matte. "This is unprecedented.''
The army engineers corps said the gradual opening of the floodgate would prevent an immediate rush of water. Alon USA Energy said it expected its refinery in Krotz Springs to be surrounded by water within 10 to 14 days of the floodgate being opened.
Exxon Mobil's refinery in Baton Rouge, the nation's second largest, was not expected to cease operations, but its Mississippi river dock was shut owing to high water, a plant spokesman said.
The engineers opened one of the 125 floodgates at the Morganza Spillway 45 miles north-west of Baton Rouge on Saturday, sending a flume of water on to nearby fields.
The move, last taken in 1973, will channel floodwaters towards homes, farms, a wildlife refuge and a small oil refinery in the Atchafalaya river basin to avoid inundating Louisiana's two largest cities.
Weeks of heavy rains and runoff from an unusually snowy winter caused the Mississippi to rise, flooding 1.2m hectares (3m acres) of farmland in Mississippi, Tennessee and Arkansas and evoking comparisons to historic floods in 1927 and 1937.
It could take three weeks for the enormous flow of water to pass through a system of levees and spillways to the Gulf of Mexico about 100 miles to the south, said Major General Michael Walsh, president of the Mississippi River Commission.
"It's putting tremendous pressure on the entire system as we try to work this amount of water through the Mississippi river tributaries," Walsh said before the floodgates opened.
Some 3,000 square miles of land could be inundated in up to six metres of water for several weeks. When flows peak around 22 May, the spillway will carry about 3,500 cubic metres per second, about one quarter of its capacity.
About 2,500 people live in the floodpath, and 22,500 others, with 11,000 buildings, could be affected by backwater flooding – the water pushed back into streams and tributaries that cannot flow normally into what will be an overwhelmed Atchafalaya river.
Some 7,300 hectares of farmland could be flooded as waters rise, peaking in about a week and remaining high for several weeks before subsiding.
"The land's going to wash away, but that's life," said Hurlin Dupre, who represents Krotz Springs on the St Landry parish council. "The worst of it is we are in a drought and we can't use none of that water."
Failing to open the floodgate would have put New Orleans at risk of flooding that, according to computer models, would eclipse that seen during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, when 80% of the city was flooded. About 1,500 people died in the disaster.
Lower Mississippi flooding threatened densely populated areas, up to eight refineries and at least one nuclear power plant alongside the river.
The refineries account for about 12% of the nation's capacity for making petrol and other fuels.
In the Atchafalaya river basin, authorities went door to door to begin evacuations in small towns and parishes in the path of the water, which could take weeks to reach the Gulf of Mexico.
Louisiana's governor, Bobby Jindal, said on Friday that the state had plans with the American Red Cross to provide shelters for evacuees. "I'm very scared," said Heidi Fangue, a Morganza resident. "I have my bags packed and ready to go."
Fangue, who was selling T-shirts that read "Morganza Spillway [floodgate] 2011 – Gates finally opened," said she would depart in her mother's camper van once floodwaters began to creep over the nearby levee.
In Morgan City to the south, workers were reinforcing levees and placing sandbags along the Atchafalaya river.
"The fatigue factor is something we'll have to watch for, both on the levees and on the people," said Morgan City mayor Tim Matte. "This is unprecedented.''
The army engineers corps said the gradual opening of the floodgate would prevent an immediate rush of water. Alon USA Energy said it expected its refinery in Krotz Springs to be surrounded by water within 10 to 14 days of the floodgate being opened.
Exxon Mobil's refinery in Baton Rouge, the nation's second largest, was not expected to cease operations, but its Mississippi river dock was shut owing to high water, a plant spokesman said.
....................
Note: The viewpoint expressed in this article is solely that of the writer / news outlet. "FATA Awareness Initiative" Team may not agree with the opinion presented.
....................
We Hope You find the info useful. Keep visiting this blog and remember to leave your feedback / comments / suggestions / requests / corrections.
With Regards,
"FATA Awareness Initiative" Team.
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