Army Corps opts to blow up levee, flood 130,000 acres in Missouri

[Viva_La_Revolution]

Source: cnn

Starting Monday night, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will blow up a levee at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers due to record-high water levels in both rivers, said Maj. Gen. Michael Walsh.

At 5 p.m. Monday, water levels outside Cairo, Illinois, were 61.44 feet -- well above the flood stage of 40 feet -- according to the National Weather Service. Walsh ordered the intentional breach in hopes of alleviating pressure in the river system, even as it is expected to lead to the flooding of 130,000 acres of mostly farmland in Missouri.

"(The system) continues to be under enormous and unprecedented pressure," said Walsh, the president of the Mississippi River Commission. "Because of that ... I've ordered the district commander to operate the project."

The first phase of the explosive operation at the Birds Point-New Madrid levee should occur between 9 p.m. and midnight Monday. Walsh said that historic and still rising flood waters made it imperative to begin the operation as soon as possible. The multistage process is expected to continue through Tuesday.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/05/02/missouri.levee.breach/index.html?hpt=T2

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AnotherWAYE2b‎ Sooo i just felt them blowing up the levy... Everything was shaking like an earthquake...
Twitter - 1 minute ago

llcroc‎ Our house shook in Clarkton--thought it was an earthquake. Turned on the news to learn they had just blown the levee! #BirdsPoint
Twitter - 2 minutes ago