mike2010 Posted May 1, 2011 Share Posted May 1, 2011 Missouri says No , but Illinois says Yes. And latest NAM looks like more trouble for the area. Current Flood Stage - http://water.weather...,1,1,1,1,1,1%22 Story - http://www.chicagotr...0,7771221.story The levee protects Cairo up to 64 feet, but the corps is concerned about the added pressure to the levee wall if the crest lasts several days. Southern Illinois flood: Appeals court OKs levee blast With two areas evacuated, all eyes on rising floodwater 8:41 AM CDT, May 1, 2011 UPDATE: Authorities in the small southern Illinois city of Cairo, menaced by two dangerously swollen rivers, say most of the remaining residents have heeded a mandatory evacuation order, prompted by river water seeping up through the ground behind the levee "kind of like Old Faithful." Passing thunderstorms dumped rain overnight on the already waterlogged region, adding to the worries of emergency officials. Cairo Mayor Judson Childs had issued a mandatory evacuation order for the city of 2,800 residents late Saturday afternoon. --Associated Press CAIRO, Ill. — With the waters steadily rising, a federal appeals court on Saturday cleared the path for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to blow up a nearby levee to ease rain-induced flooding around this town of roughly 3,000 where the Mississippi and Ohio rivers meet. More rain is predicted in the coming days, following a spate of spring rains that drenched the Midwest. After the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Saturday against a last-minute plea by Missouri officials worried about flooding of farmland if the Birds Point levee is breached, all sides were watching both rivers, preparing for the worst. Barges loaded with 265 tons of liquid explosives moved into position near the levee, though the Corps had not decided whether to blast a 2-mile-wide hole in the wall and flood about 130,000 acres of Missouri farmland, where another 200 people live. Meanwhile, power was shut off there and the sheriff's office issued a mandatory evacuation. In Cairo, police officers and members of the Illinois National Guard were going door to door to inform residents of the predominantly African-American town that they also needed to leave after Mayor Judson Childs issued his own mandatory evacuation. "I hope nothing happens, but I'd rather people leave and nothing happen than people stay and lose lives," Childs said. Maj. Gen. Michael Walsh, the Corps officer in charge of deciding whether the levee needs to be blasted, said the trigger point will be when the Ohio River at Cairo reaches 61 feet. On Saturday, the river had climbed to 59.2 feet at Cairo. It was expected to increase to 60 feet Sunday and stay at that level until Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service. The levee protects Cairo up to 64 feet, but the corps is concerned about the added pressure to the levee wall if the crest lasts several days. If Cairo's levees burst, the town could be inundated with as much as 15 feet of floodwater, according to the corps. Walsh said some parts of the Cairo levee wall were "beginning to degrade." He said engineers noticed sand boils, a sign of trouble in which pressure from the swollen river pushes under the levee wall and water bubbles up in the soil on the other side. "Having this much pressure on the entire system causes me concern," Walsh said at a news conference, adding that he was in daily contact with the governors of Illinois and Missouri. Some residents were already feeling pain caused by rising floodwater. In the small town of Olive Branch, about 15 miles north of Cairo, Larry Vaughn was putting furniture and appliances on blocks as floodwaters from the two rivers squeezed his home like a murky, liquid vice. Vaughn, 59, said he spent six hours in the emergency room Friday suffering from heart palpitations that he blamed on exhaustion. He has been forced to navigate his front yard wearing chest waders. "I'm really worried," Vaughn said. "I don't know what I'm going to do. If the water gets in here, it's going to ruin everything. I've just about collapsed from exhaustion." In Missouri, officials have argued that blowing up the Birds Point levee to ease the threat to Cairo would flood about 100 homes, destroy rich farmland and create environmental hazards by sweeping up fertilizer and other chemicals. Some Mississippi County residents who had evacuated returned Saturday to get belongings from their homes. Many feared the farmland that sustains their community will be ruined if the levee is breached. "If they break the levee, what are we going to have left?" Mississippi County Sheriff Keith Moore said. "It's going be like a tsunami." Bill Feezor has been farming about 1,500 acres in the flood plain near the levee. He is worried 550 acres of wheat and corn will be ruined if the Corps blows up the levee, causing a loss of "hundreds of thousands of dollars," he said. "We don't know what the land is going to look like," Feezor, 66, said. "It's never happened in my lifetime." With regional forecasts calling for heavy rain and thunderstorms through Monday, some residents said the fate of Cairo and the Missouri farmland was up to a higher power than the Army Corps. "It's in God's hands right now," said Carlin Bennett, Mississippi County's presiding commissioner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike2010 Posted May 1, 2011 Author Share Posted May 1, 2011 breaking news, Missouri asking the supreme court now to block it. Missouri vs. Illinois http://news.yahoo.co...her_flooding_82 time-a-runnin-out... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janetjanet998 Posted May 1, 2011 Share Posted May 1, 2011 its a tough call....if they blow the levee 100 homes will flood along with the prime farmland..Cario is a dying town but this was always the plan and all states signed off....so that is why the courts are siding with IL if they training rain the next 24 hours it may not matter either way..both may be screwed.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isohume Posted May 1, 2011 Share Posted May 1, 2011 Cryin' won't help you, prayin' won't do you no good Now, cryin' won't help you, prayin' won't do you no good When the levee breaks, mama you got to move Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike2010 Posted May 1, 2011 Author Share Posted May 1, 2011 if training rain the next 24 hours it may not matter either way..both may be screwed.. true there.. They gotta decide within the next 48 hours. because... this isn't looking good - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IWXwx Posted May 1, 2011 Share Posted May 1, 2011 Cryin' won't help you, prayin' won't do you no good Now, cryin' won't help you, prayin' won't do you no good When the levee breaks, mama you got to move Wow...Zepplin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isohume Posted May 1, 2011 Share Posted May 1, 2011 Wow...Zepplin. That's the correct answer. Minus 1 for spelling tho. It's Zeppelin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janetjanet998 Posted May 1, 2011 Share Posted May 1, 2011 SIKESTON — The Army Corps of Engineers officer in charge of deciding whether to destroy a southeast Missouri levee has ordered crews to start filling pipes at the levee with explosives. AP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jebman Posted May 1, 2011 Share Posted May 1, 2011 I wish the water would go down some so that the levee demolition can be called off. My heart is just breaking over the flooding and tornado destruction and what people are going through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Witness Protection Program Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 I can see both sides, a tough call. But what I really don't get is why it is called the Mississippi and not the Ohio River from Cairo to the Gulf of Mexico. The Ohio is wider at Cairo plus on average provides 35% more volume than the Mississippi. Who's to blame for that screw up, and why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Witness Protection Program Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Expected to be blown up any time now. Some info, maps, and pics: http://www.mvm.usace.army.mil/publicaffairs/News/press_releases/bpnm/BPNM_pressrelease.asp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B-Rent Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Corps blows levee at Birds Point overnight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Lizard Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 The crop is lost this year, but I thought back before the CoE and levee projects, the almost annual Spring floods deposited fresh soil which is why the bottomlands are such fertile crop land. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike2010 Posted May 4, 2011 Author Share Posted May 4, 2011 Missouri's pissed I hear.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.