Mississippi River swells toward Tuesday crest

[marmar]

from the Memphis Commercial-Appeal:



Mississippi River swells toward Tuesday crest
Vast flooding not letting up; more evacuations near

By Jody Callahan
Posted May 9, 2011



Photo by Mike Brown
Philip Bollheimer, 19, tries to leap over shallow Mississippi River water to get a closer look at the bronze statue of Tom Lee in Tom Lee Park on Sunday, the 86th anniversary of the day Lee saved 32 people from drowning in the river when the steamboat M.E. Norman capsized.



As the Mississippi River at Memphis continued surging Sunday and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers monitored a flow of water so immense it could, in one second, fill a football field 44 feet deep, Shelby County officials served evacuation notices to another 243 properties.

Col. Vernie Reichling Jr., commander and district engineer for the Corps, stood atop the bluff at Confederate Park in Downtown Memphis on Sunday afternoon and assured that there was "no concern for any levee to fail."

However, he said that even after the Mississippi reaches an expected crest of 48 feet on Tuesday, it could be another 10 days to two weeks before it recedes enough to stop blocking water from tributaries like the Wolf and Loosahatchie rivers.

On Sunday, the Mississippi River was at 47.6 feet, just below the record of 48.7 feet set in 1937. This flood marks the first time since 1937 that the river has risen to even 41 feet in Memphis. .............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2011/may/09/river-swells-toward-tuesday-crest/