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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsBarges stranded as Mississippi River water levels reach critical low
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/oct/14/mississippi-river-boats-barges-water-levelsBarges stranded as Mississippi River water levels reach critical low
Major shipping delays and backlog of vessels after region experiences lack of rainfall in recent weeks
Maya Yang
Fri 14 Oct 2022 12.21 EDT
The water in the Mississippi River has dropped so low that barges are getting stuck, leading to expensive dredging and at least one recent traffic jam of more than 2,000 vessels backed up.
The Mississippi River Basin produces nearly all 92% of US agricultural exports, and 78% of the global exports of feed grains and soybeans. The recent drought has dropped water levels to alarmingly low levels that are causing shipping delays, and seeing the costs of alternative transport, such as rail, rise.
In Vicksburg, western Mississippi, residents have seen less than an inch of rain since the start of September.
The mayor, George Flaggs, told WAPT-TV that the river is lower than he has seen it in nearly 70 years.
Its definitely having an impact on the local economy because the commercial use of this river has almost stopped, Flaggs said.
Last Friday, the US Coast Guard said that there was a backup of more than 2,000 barges at various points, Bloomberg reported. The halted barges were carrying recently harvested corn and soybeans.
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Barges stranded as Mississippi River water levels reach critical low (Original Post)
cbabe
Oct 2022
OP
GreenWave
(7,156 posts)1. Wow! No longer the mighty Missy sip!
Sad times.
PortTack
(32,923 posts)2. Oh dear...that's not good at all. So many ppl depend on the river
crickets
(26,046 posts)3. Not good. K&R for visibility.