DUers have you seen the broken levees in Missouri

[malaise]

http://video.aol.com/video-detail/levees-break-town-floods/939994160

http://www.weather.com/newscenter/topstories/032008_flooding.html?from=hp_news
<snip>

Residents warily watched as rivers continued to rise Thursday from heavy storms that killed more than a dozen people and dumped as much as a foot of rain on the Midwest.

The death toll rose to at least 15, after authorities said a man drove his pickup truck into floodwaters in southeast Ohio and drowned early Thursday. Two other people died in the flooding in Ohio.

Several areas in Missouri were bracing for record-level flood surges expected to hit Friday and Saturday. Authorities were straining to keep pace with some of the worst flooding to hit their region in decades.

The National Weather Service was forecasting record flooding along the Meramec River near St. Louis. Some residents had already been evacuated Thursday. The Black, Big and St. Francis rivers in southeastern Missouri also were expected to see significant flooding.
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Stay safe DUers.

[ColbertWatcher]

1. Levees? Did someone say levees?

I fink it be burfday time!

hyuck, hycuk!

[malaise]

2. LOL

I just love your signature pix :D

[ColbertWatcher]

3. Thank you

And thank you for posting this.

[KharmaTrain]

4. I Did A "Fly-Over"

The amount of rain and snow across the midwest has been high and the worst spring rains have just begun. It's been 15 years since the last Mississippi flood and its said these these happen every 15-20 years. We're expecting 8 inches of snow here tomorrow and when it melts, it's going right to the mighty Mississippi...and if it all melts thanks to a downpour that could really make things messy.

I just got back from New Orleans and they pointed out the river was at a higher stage this year as it has been in recent years, and then listened to KMOX where they were reporting flooding upwards of 18 feet above flood stage on some of the rivers. On the trip back the other day, the plan went right over southern Missouri and the St. Louis area and one could see the swollen rivers and how the Mississippi is already spilling over into the flood plains. A new surge of water down that system could set the stage for yet another sad wrong of heavy flooding. All the damning on the river has only made the likelyhood of these type of floods likely.

[malaise]

5. Wow

Thanks for this.

PBS has good coverage now.

Holy shit! Ten states under threat now from rivers?

[KharmaTrain]

7. A Mixed Blessing...

One of the things that makes this part of the world so bountiful is both the rain and the soil...much that is distributed during the flooding season...and one of this scale will depoist new soils on these lands...along with all the water in the aquifers that will lead to a great growing season this year. The farmers along the flood plains know the risks of rising rivers, and take the gamble on 10 to 20 year of no flooding and then tries to get a government bailout.

It's a shame for those in communities that may get swooped up, but many towns want open riverfronts and putting up more dams and levees just increase the problems downstream. Sadly, I suspect, FEMA is asleep at the switch again...the reports I was hearing was of overwhelemed state and locals trying to deal with this thing...and soon it could get a lot worse.

April has traditionally been the month the river crests and the most vulnerable stretch in from about LaCrosse to above Memphis...the Ohio Delta. And now there are reports of the Ohio starting to back up as well...which could back up things further. Flooding has been an on and off problem here in Illinois for the past two months. Get those blues records ready...the river's gonna rise.

Cheers...

[malaise]

9. A lot of truth there

There's nothing like the first post hurricane crop in Jamaica. We've had the cheapest tomatoes on the planet for close to twelve weeks. Between January and February, the best salad tomatoes were between J$10 and $J30 per lb. Even now they're between J$50-60(J$71= US$1).
Yep mother nature does try to clean up our mess, but we've messed up the planet so badly that these days she's on steroids. :D

This is still my favorite river song. Reminds me of my dad. I grew up on Paul Robeson. Who cares if it's the wrong river! :D

http://apps.facebook.com/ilike/artist/Paul+Robeson/track/Old+Man+River

[KharmaTrain]

10. Thanks For Sharing...

I hope to get to your beautiful island...if the TSA allows it. :shiver:

I'm glad to see things recovered quickly. While things are still painfully slow in New Orleans, the spirit is strong and the city's rich history and culture live on...the lower ninth is still a political football and FEMA trailers still are all over St. Bernard Parish, things have bounced back...the only ones who have stayed out are the large chains and the locals don't seem to mind.

The combination of Robeson and Gershwin are classic...thank you for sharing. The entire trip I had a soundtrack playing in my head...from several versions of "When the Levee Breaks" to Robbie Robertson's "Somewhere Down The Crazy River" to Randy Newman's "Louisiana, 1927" to an endless loop of Fats Domino, Alan Toussaint, Louis Armstrong...every sight had another tune. Also I tuned into a local Cajun station...heard some great Zyadeco Blues...then to the local Blues/Jazz station playing another preserved vintage jazz recording...and finally seeing the krewes marching on Decatur Street. Yep...it was a great experience...highly recommended and the folks there really appreciate the people like me throwing money around.

[malaise]

11. Post some of those great songs

We like the same music.

[KharmaTrain]

12. I'm Always Playing Tunes...

Music is a big time passion here...I share it with friends around the world. I don't promote it here on DU but I work with various internet and digital broadcasters and bringing back a lot of great music and programming to good people like yourself.

Here's a link to what I'm streaming...

http://71.57.24.170/public/zecom/zecomtuner.htm

It'd be an honor to have you check it out...

[malaise]

14. Thanks

Will do after I finish listening to the scandal re the breach of Obama's passport file.

[malaise]

17. The Long and Winding Road is one of my favorites

Great music

[madrchsod]

13. ya they are going to get high water in new orleans

the rock river and wisconsin is till high from the wisconsin run off and the spring rains are just starting. leveeing the Mississippi from clinton/fulton area south was`t a good idea....

[KharmaTrain]

16. The Illinois River Has Been Flooding For A While

Nothing major, but its definitely has been running high most of the winter. I visted a friend in LaSalle and we drove along the riverfront and the river had already overtopped areas that it usually doesn't reach until late March or April. We're expecting 6-8 inches of snow here...replacing the stuff that has been slowly melting (and headed down the Mississippi)...but a good hard rain could start a real mess down the Des Plaines (where all Chicago's storm water goes) into the Illinois and on down toward St. Louis.

A few years ago I stopped by the arch in St. Louis, parked the car right along the river and walked up a long set up steps to get up to the top of the levee...about 2/3rd the way up was a plaque showing where the flood waters topped at in '93...then I looked at my car, 25 feet below. Hopefully the folks most vulnerable are aware of what's happening...they also know that FEMA will be there only to screw things up.

Cheers...

[ben_meyers]

6. It's starting to look like 1993

It could get that bad, another winter storm is hitting the Midwest tonight and tomorrow! I'm not sure how it compares to 1965 though.

From May through September of 1993, major and/or record flooding occurred across North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, and Illinois. Fifty flood deaths occurred, and damages approached $15 billion. Hundreds of levees failed along the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers.
The magnitude and severity of this flood event was simply over-whelming, and it ranks as one of the greatest natural disasters ever to hit the United States. Approximately 600 river forecast points in the Midwestern United States were above flood stage at the same time. Nearly 150 major rivers and tributaries were affected. It was certainly the largest and most significant flood event ever to occur in the United States.

http://www.nwrfc.noaa.gov/floods/papers/oh_2/great.htm

[madrchsod]

15. 65 was really bad..i sandbagged in rock island ,illinois

and the wall was about 16 feet high when my friends and i started.
most of the work was done by school kids from all over the area and the national guard...now they have a levee on the illinois side and the iowa side does`t....

[uppityperson]

8. Read that it has been declared a disaster so can get assistance.

http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN20199753
Floods that ravaged a broad swathe of the U.S. Midwest from Missouri eastward to the Ohio Valley contributed to deaths of more than a dozen people, according to reports on Thursday.

President George W. Bush declared 70 Missouri counties as disaster areas, and the National Guard was deployed in hard-hit areas of the state after deadly storms that dumped up to a foot (30.5 cm) of rain sent rivers out of their banks.

Media and official reports across the Midwest region said more than a dozen people had died, some swept away by flood waters, others in traffic accidents blamed on the storms and high waters.

[malaise]

18. What a disaster

Stay safe Duers.