Mississippi River

Stories 21 - 40 | << Prev   Next >>

Mississippi River Drying Up
 Mississippi River Drying Up  

Mississippi River Drying Up

Shipping industry shivers at the thought

(Newser) - The worst US drought in 50 years is making the mighty Mississippi River dry up and could curb shipping there altogether, reports Time . Dry conditions mean narrower, shallower passageways, so shippers are lightening their loads to avoid running aground. That could be huge, because 60% of the country's grain...

Henry Peter Bosse Photographs of Mississippi River Worth $4.5M
 Photo Album Worth $4.5M 

Photo Album Worth $4.5M

Historic Henry Peter Bosse images show river in 1880s

(Newser) - Few have heard of Henry Peter Bosse, but his 19th-century photographs have earned a home in a federal vault—and a single album is worth $4.5 million. Sotheby's recently appraised the album, which illustrates the changing Mississippi River in the 1880s, and its value had quadrupled over 20...

Man Rides Entire Mississippi—by Paddleboard

Dave Cornthwaite traveled more than 2,300 miles on the water

(Newser) - A British man has conquered the 2,300-plus miles of the Mississippi, with only a stand-up paddleboard to keep him moving. Dave Cornthwaite, 31, has earned himself a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for his journey from Elk Lake, Minn., to the Gulf of Mexico, the Huffington...

Coming: Biggest Ever Dead Zone in Gulf of Mexico

Due to chemical runoff from farms along the Mississippi

(Newser) - Chemical runoff from farms along the Mississippi create “dead zones” each year in the Gulf of Mexico—areas where nitrogen, phosphorus, and animal manure settle, feeding the algae that steals the oxygen from all other living things. This year’s record flooding will likely lead to the biggest dead...

Makeshift Levees Protect Homes From Flooding

Mississippi residents take matters into their own hands

(Newser) - Some homeowners are putting up a fight against the mighty Mississippi and its tributaries, notes Popular Science . The AP and Getty have remarkable images of homes near Vicksburg shielded by makeshift levees. It's "a testament to the human instinct to protect hearth and home," notes Clay Dillow....

First Death Reported in Mississippi Flooding

Man, 69, dies after being pulled out of water

(Newser) - The Mississippi River flood has its first casualty: Walter Cook, 69, died today after firefighters found him clinging to the top of a fence in chest-deep water yesterday, the AP reports. He was found in Vicksburg, Mississippi, where the river is expected to crest today at 57.1 feet. Most...

Residents Flee Spillway Waters
 Residents Flee Spillway Waters 

Residents Flee Spillway Waters

Many have cleared out ahead of expected Louisiana floods

(Newser) - Butte LaRose is “like a ghost town” after yesterday’s opening of the Morganza spillway , says one resident. People started clearing out their belongings last week and most were gone by today, when the water was expected. A sign outside town warns that animals, too, are likely fleeing for...

Louisiana Floodgates Open for 1st Time in 38 Years

Move diverts water from the inflated Mississippi

(Newser) - Water from the inflated Mississippi River gushed through a floodgate today for the first time in nearly four decades and headed toward thousands of homes and farmland in the Cajun countryside, threatening to slowly submerge the land under water up to 25 feet deep. As the gate was raised, the...

Louisiana Prepares to Flood Farmland

25K people urged to evacuate ahead of spillway opening

(Newser) - Louisiana—faced with the choice of flooding farmland or risking major floods in New Orleans and Baton Rouge —is preparing to open a relief valve and swamp large areas of farmland in Cajun country. The Morganza spillway is about to be opened for the first time in 38 years...

Louisiana's Awful Choice: Flood Cities or Drown Farms?

One option could devastate New Orleans; the other would destroy farmland

(Newser) - In Louisiana, a terrible choice: Frantically sandbag the levees in an attempt to prevent a flood in New Orleans and Baton Rouge that could be greater than Katrina in some areas—or open a relief valve and purposely flood 200 miles of farmland, potentially destroying the livelihoods of many Louisiana...

Floodwaters Devastate Mississippi Delta

Rising river wipes small town off map

(Newser) - The rising Mississippi River has heaped more misery on one of the poorest regions in America. Hundreds of people have been forced from their homes in the Mississippi Delta as the floodwaters approach record levels, washing out farms and roads, the AP reports. All 300 homes in Tunica Cutoff, an...

Creepy Critters Flee Rising Mississippi

Animals being forced into residential areas around region

(Newser) - The Mississippi's record flooding is forcing out snakes, spiders, and other dangerous critters into Memphis and other residential areas in the region, reports ABC News . The biggest danger is probably the venomous snakes known as water moccasins or cottonmouths, which swim well and are aggressive under stress. "They...

Mississippi Expected to Crest Tonight in Memphis

River will likely reach near-record of 48 feet

(Newser) - The Mississippi River could crest as soon as 7pm tonight in Memphis, an earlier forecast than previous predictions . Even so, Mayor AC Wharton tells CBS News , "we're ready for it." Door-to-door warnings alerted residents to evacuate over the weekend, and patrols have been stepped up to prevent...

Mississippi Continues Steady Rise

More evacuate rising waters in Memphis

(Newser) - More Memphis residents were being told today to flee their homes for higher ground as the Mississippi's crest edged toward the city, threatening to bring more flooding to parts of an area already soaked. Officials were going door-to-door, warning about 240 people to get out before the river reaches...

Mississippi Keeps Rising in Memphis

Evacuees get out ahead of river flooding

(Newser) - It's colorful, but still not the quote you want to hear from your local public affairs officer: "The mighty Mississippi is starting to wrap its arms around us here in Memphis." About 3,000 properties are threatened by the rising river, and authorities were going from house...

Memphis Residents Warned to Flee Rising Mississippi

Coast Guard closes section of river to barge traffic

(Newser) - The Coast Guard closed a stretch of the swollen Mississippi to barge traffic today in a move that could cause a backup along the mighty river, while authorities farther south in Memphis went door to door, warning about a 1,000 households to leave before they get swamped. Emergency workers...

Disaster Slowly Flowing Down the Mississippi River

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...

Corps Blasts Through Missouri Levee

US Supreme Court rejects Missouri's request to halt operation

(Newser) - The Army Corps of Engineers lit up the Missouri skyline last night, blowing a two-mile gap in a levee, and activating a 1920s flood plan that has not been used since 1937. The explosions along the levee near drenched Cairo caused water to gush over prime farmland, the Wall Street ...

Missouri Sues to Prevent Demolition of Levee

It wants the Army Corps of Engineers to consider other options

(Newser) - The Midwest is keeping a nervous eye on its levees—and now on the courts as well. Missouri's attorney general today filed suit in federal court to prevent the Army Corps of Engineers from blowing up a levee on the Mississippi River, reports Reuters . The corps is preparing to...

River Overflows Missouri Levee; Collapse Feared

Severe storms won't let up in soaked Ohio, Miss. River valleys

(Newser) - Thousands of southeastern Missouri residents watched helplessly today as Black River water crept toward their homes after overflowing the levee protecting their town, as officials predicted a "catastrophic failure." Several homes in and around Poplar Bluff were partially submerged, while water filled the front yards of other houses....

Stories 21 - 40 | << Prev   Next >>
Most Read on Newser