Mississippi River, Morganza Spillway Opened: Residents Not Happy

One floodgate was opened in Louisiana around 3 p.m. yesterday due to a swollen Mississippi River racing toward New Orleans and Baton Rouge. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opened the first floodgate at the Morganza spillway for the first time in forty years.

Additional floodgates may open today in hopes of preventing major flooding in New Orleans and Baton Rouge. The Morganza Spillway has 125 gates and there is potential to open ¼ of those gates in the coming days to avoid larger cities from becoming flooded.

This could affect 25,000 people and their properties. More than 3,000 square miles could end up covered with 25 feet of water before all is said and done. With the opening of the spillway, it diverts water from the Mississippi River into Louisiana's bayous.

Thousands of people packed up their belongings and moved to higher ground to avoid the controlled flooding. Many do not know if their home will be spared. Some residents feel they are being sacrificed. One resident Teresa Meyerer said, "They say it's for the good of the metropolitan areas. I've seen what they do in metropolitan areas. They pave paradise and put up a parking lot. Is the destruction worth it for dollars?"

A resident of Gibson Cindy Prejent is also disappointed with the opening of the spillway stating, "What gives them the right to flood us? I understand it, but there are so many communities and so many farmers and so many businesses."

Farmers will get the worst end of the controlled flooding because it's not considered a natural disaster by the United States Department of Agriculture Office of Risk Management. Farmers could lose 18,000 acres of crop.

The opening of the spillway is expected to prevent flooding in Baton Rouge and keep it from affecting oil refineries, chemical plants and ease strain on levees.

Sources:

CNN