1. When the Army Corps of Engineers opened the Bonnet Carre Spillway it flooded a recreational area, when they open the Morganza Floodway this weekend they will be flooding towns. The differences are easy explained in this video.
2. The US Coast Guard could close down shipping on the Mississippi River between the Gulf of Mexico and Baton Rouge. An economic report commissioned by the Port of New Orleans estimates a closure would cost the national economy up to $275 million a day.
3. The New Orleans metro-area water system is safe – for now. But residents should stay informed. If the Mississippi Rivers rises above the level of the barriers that protect the intake pipes, there is an increased risk of collision between the pipes and barges or ships navigating the fast and strong currents.
4. Flooding will negatively effect the already devastated Louisiana oyster industry.
5. Louisiana hasn’t seen the worst of it yet. The crest of the river is still rolling south.
My heart goes out to everyone there. My family lives close to the Mississippi River in Illinois near where the Bird’s Point Levee had to be broken. Their house shook from the blast. Its tough dealing with this powerful river and no one wins. I AM concerned about what’s in the river water now that its swept through a lot of farmland that had huge amounts of diesel fuel and chemicals used for crops.
Living in New Orleans I am thankful to their sacrifice of property to minimize the risk to my life, someone they have never meet.