2011 Mississippi River Spring Floods

[CajunRed]

Helmut or BigEd...some good news (I think) released this morning that the expected crests along the river have been lowered by 2 feet or even a little more than that. I know we're still going to get a ton of water, but that's GOT to be pretty good news!


igeaux.mobi

[cjr3888]

Question for Ed or anyone else who knows,

I drive up and down the levee at least three times a week between Lake Fausee Point and Henderson. Last year, I noticed some small landslides from the top of the levee that haven't all been taken care of. The water won't reach those heights, but can that be a sign of structural damage to the levee? Or is it just as it seems, rain softening the top soil and sliding down?

[HelmutVII]

_ Question for Ed or anyone else who knows,

I drive up and down the levee at least three times a week between Lake Fausee Point and Henderson. Last year, I noticed some small landslides from the top of the levee that haven't all been taken care of. The water won't reach those heights, but can that be a sign of structural damage to the levee? Or is it just as it seems, rain softening the top soil and sliding down? _

Did they appear to be swelling at the bottom and shrinking at the top? Like there was a rotation of a wedge of soil. Or was there a very small ravine through the middle of the affected area?

One of the things that they hope happens after the flood is for the water to recede slowly. When the levees hold water for a long period of time the soil becomes saturated. If the water recedes tto fast the saturated ground will slough off.

[cjr3888]

It just appeared like the rain softened the top and small landslides occurred. I didnt notice until they actually happened.


igeaux.mobi

[HelmutVII]

_ It just appeared like the rain softened the top and small landslides occurred. I didnt notice until they actually happened.


igeaux.mobi _

Probably a sliding circle (shear) failure.

[HelmutVII]

Links to NASA imagery.

This is of Morganza on May15.

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/ima...011135_lrg.jpg

This is for the rest of the flood imagery.

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Nat...t.php?id=49528

[NewsCopy]

BATON ROUGE — Gov. Bobby Jindal said Tuesday that officials are warning residents to be on the lookout for wildlife fleeing floodwaters. The governor said bears have been seen in some areas, and reports of snakes moving to higher ground are common ...

The rest of the story

[biged05]

Cjr, helmut is right about the slide. They're not a real big threat and we're watching them. They actually have 3 on the flood side. Those are a little more critical since they are on the flood side. We put rock in those to keep it from sliding any more when the water cones up. I have a really good knowledge of that are because it's my flood fight sector.

King,

Those studies are way above my pay grade...lol
My regular job is contract admin for construction contracts. You would have to get in touch with someone in new Orleans to throw those ideas around, but I think helmut aimed it up pretty good

igeaux.mobi

[CajunMarine81]

At first glance, I thought this was Coach Bustle! lol http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=91Eb3FiebTs God bless everyone in the flooded area!

[NewsCopy]

"Cajuns are the most resilient form of humanity I know of,'' said Jones, whose family has lived in the bayou since 1765. In the Bayou Estates neighborhood, Wendie Hotard had barricaded her one-story brick ranch home with nearly 300 sandbags piled 3 feet high.

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[NewsCopy]

The government is in the process of flooding several thousand of these descendants of Acadia right out of their homes by opening up floodgates along the rising and soon to be overflowing Mississippi River. They are doing this for the “common good ...

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[NewsCopy]

BATON ROUGE — The Army Corps of Engineers opened two more bays on the Morganza Spillway on Monday to alleviate pressure on Mississippi River levees downstream. Col. Ed Fleming, commander of the New Orleans District of the Corps, said the spillway is ...

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[axg8750]

Sorry if someone else has already posted this link. I have kept up with most of the posts but not all. Check out the operation this guy has going on to keep his house high and dry. Pretty amazing. I do not believe it is in Louisiana but it is somewhere along the Mississippi.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgKsehkcIF8&sns=em


igeaux.mobi

[NewsCopy]

There are some who are refusing to leave their homes. Wayne Magnum, like so many other Cajuns, came to this hideaway to drift through the hidden waters catching crawfish. He's one of a handful of locals who remain. "I ain't leaving," he says, as he casts ...

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[Bandwagon King]

This is a sight I have been following all the river gauges on. there are charts dating back a week if you scroll over the latest level of each gauge reading & left click. You can look at the 24 hour change & go back & note changes by the hour over the past 40+ hours by left clicking. To my untrained engineerless eyes it appears by the chart & the hourly readings that the river at Natchez is at it's peak right now & the river at Knox landing may have already peeked & is possibly coming down even before Natchez, even though that doesn't make sense uless opening the gates at Morganza has actually caused the river downstream to outrun the River upstream.

It is showing the Atchafalaya @ Butte Larose still below 21'. If we are reaching a peek already, then there is a good possibility that not only won't Butte Larose flood, but Stephensville & Amelia might not flood either. Somone correct me if I'm wrong, but we were told the water was going to hit Morgan City with in 48 hours & start to rise fairly rapidly down there. Well not fairly rapidly, but it should be rising more rapidly than it's rising to even reach eleven feet. This thing is starting to look very encouraging. To the totally untrained unusable eye & mind that is.

http://www2.mvr.usace.army.mil/Water...new/layout.cfm