Disaster areas declared as Big Muddy reaches record levels
(NEWSER) - A slow-moving disaster is making its way down the Mississippi River. Authorities fear that floodwaters will exceed records set during the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, one of the greatest natural disasters in American history. Tributaries that flow into the Mississippi are already backing up, and disaster areas have been declared in parts of Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky, AP reports. "I've never seen it this bad," said a 78-year-old resident who has lived in his Kentucky house for 77 years. Floodwaters have now turned his home into an island—dry but surrounded by water. More»