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Army Corps battles rising Mississippi from Memphis to New Orleans

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  • Army Corps battles rising Mississippi from Memphis to New Orleans

    Army Corps battles rising Mississippi from Memphis to New Orleans

    <!--endclickprintinclude--><!--startclickprintexclude-->By the CNN Wire Staff<SCRIPT type=text/javascript>cnnAuthor = "By the CNN Wire Staff";</SCRIPT>
    <SCRIPT type=text/javascript>if(location.hostname.indexOf( 'edition.' ) > -1) {document.write('May 9, 2011 -- Updated 1546 GMT (2346 HKT)');} else {document.write('May 9, 2011 11:46 a.m. EDT');}</SCRIPT>May 9, 2011 11:46 a.m. EDTMay 9, 2011 11:46 a.m. EDT


    Excerpt:

    Upstream in Memphis, Tennessee, residents and authorities anxiously waited for the Mississippi to crest at a near-record 14 feet above flood stage.
    ...
    "This water that we're seeing coming by is moving 2 million cubic feet per second," said Corps of Engineers' Memphis District commander, Col. Vernie Reichling, of the situation Sunday outside that city. "To use an analogy, in one second that water would fill up a football field 44 feet deep."

    That means there's no time to relax, said Col. Ed Fleming, commander of the Corps' New Orleans District.

    "There is no doubt that we are stressing the system," he said. "These are historic flows."
    ...
    "It's a very powerful river. It looks like it's running very slowly, but it has a very strong current," said Bob Nations, director of preparedness in Shelby County, Tennessee, which includes Memphis. "We still don't know (exactly what) the river might do.

    Full text:
    Waging war against historic flooding in eight Midwestern and Southern states, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opened a spillway north of New Orleans on Monday in an effort to calm the rising Mississippi River.
    "Safety and security don't just happen, they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear."
    -Nelson Mandela
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