There is a potential natural disaster developing with the water deluge creating flood conditions along the Mississippi River, Ohio River, Black River, etc. Will the Mississippi River peak around May 14th and will the levies hold? In 1927 the levies did not hold and the flood was a national disaster. Marty Pope, the senior National Weather Service hydrologists in Jackson, Mississippi, says “compared to the Great Mississippi 1927 flood, this flood is going to be a lot nastier.”
Will the levies hold in the coming weeks? Will Water Proof, LA, be flooded?
What has happened is that there has been excessive rain upriver and the snows are now melting. In contract in Texas there has been little rain. Consequently there have been fires over 1.5 million acres with the water tables dropping; and no grass for the livestock.
Flooded lands shut down rural roads, railways, and some highways. The floods destroy crops and wash away valuable top soil.
On Monday, May 2, the Corps of Engineers blew up a two-mile section of the Birds Point levee flooding 130,000 acres. A second level was blow up Tuesday night to allow water to flow back into the Mississippi River. On Thursday, may 5th, a third level is scheduled to be blown up.
The ironic issue is the rains and flooding in the Central Midwest will have a major impact on our crop production. The harsh drought in the Texas area will also have a harsh impact on our crops. These floods and droughts will have a long range economic impact on farmers and ranchers.
For continuing details on the floods “google” Mississippi River floods, 2011 and 1927.