Despite a mandatory evacuation order, some people in St. Landry’s Parish, La., refused to leave on Sunday after parts of the Morganza Spillway were opened on Saturday, May 14. The spillway was last opened in 1973.
Government officials decided it was necessary to sacrifice the 3,000 square mile Atchafalaya River Basin to prevent catastrophic flooding downstream in Baton Rouge and New Orleans. The basin is rural with cropland, small towns, fishing camps, and swamps. About 25,000 people live in the area.
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Craig Fugate said in a joint statement: “Our hearts go out to all of those affected by the flooding in Louisiana’s Morganza Spillway.
“While the Army Corps is responsible for levee maintenance and control and the decision to open the Morganza Spillway, FEMA, the USDA, and the entire federal family are focused on ensuring the safety and recovery of the people and communities we serve, and at the direction of President Obama, we have been working closely with the state of Louisiana for weeks to prepare for this event.”
The volume of water in the Mississippi became so great that it was likely to overwhelm the levees downstream unless the spillway was opened. It reached 1.5 million cubic feet per second. That could have led to worse flooding than in Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Louisiana Gov.
Bobby Jindal advised residents to treat the coming flood as if it were a hurricane in a press conference before the spillway was opened. “We’ve been taking aggressive steps to help our people protect their families, property, and livelihoods from the rising river. We don’t have the time to wait for official notice. It’s critical that Louisianians get prepared now to protect their families and homes,” he said in a statement.
The National Guard has been working around the clock to monitor and shore up levees. They built a two-mile-long temporary levee to protect homes and an oil refinery in Krotz Springs. They and other agencies reviewed updated search and rescue plans, according to a statement from the governor’s office.
Jindal has asked for a federal disaster declaration for Louisiana fisheries. The USDA has said it will help farmers who lose crops or are unable to plant crops, if they have insurance.
Prison inmates were evacuated from David Wade Correctional Center and Angola Correctional Center. Hospitals and nursing homes potentially in the path of floods have plans to evacuate frail residents.
A homeowner in Butte LaRose in the Atchafalaya River basin left a poignantly humorous message posted outside his house: “Hope you appreciate this, Baton Rouge. You’re welcome.” At the bottom of the sign he drew an arrow pointing downward, with a request, “Water, please stay below this line.”
The river is expected to crest in Baton Rouge, then in New Orleans over the coming two weeks.
Government officials decided it was necessary to sacrifice the 3,000 square mile Atchafalaya River Basin to prevent catastrophic flooding downstream in Baton Rouge and New Orleans. The basin is rural with cropland, small towns, fishing camps, and swamps. About 25,000 people live in the area.
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Craig Fugate said in a joint statement: “Our hearts go out to all of those affected by the flooding in Louisiana’s Morganza Spillway.
“While the Army Corps is responsible for levee maintenance and control and the decision to open the Morganza Spillway, FEMA, the USDA, and the entire federal family are focused on ensuring the safety and recovery of the people and communities we serve, and at the direction of President Obama, we have been working closely with the state of Louisiana for weeks to prepare for this event.”
The volume of water in the Mississippi became so great that it was likely to overwhelm the levees downstream unless the spillway was opened. It reached 1.5 million cubic feet per second. That could have led to worse flooding than in Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Louisiana Gov.
Bobby Jindal advised residents to treat the coming flood as if it were a hurricane in a press conference before the spillway was opened. “We’ve been taking aggressive steps to help our people protect their families, property, and livelihoods from the rising river. We don’t have the time to wait for official notice. It’s critical that Louisianians get prepared now to protect their families and homes,” he said in a statement.
The National Guard has been working around the clock to monitor and shore up levees. They built a two-mile-long temporary levee to protect homes and an oil refinery in Krotz Springs. They and other agencies reviewed updated search and rescue plans, according to a statement from the governor’s office.
Jindal has asked for a federal disaster declaration for Louisiana fisheries. The USDA has said it will help farmers who lose crops or are unable to plant crops, if they have insurance.
Prison inmates were evacuated from David Wade Correctional Center and Angola Correctional Center. Hospitals and nursing homes potentially in the path of floods have plans to evacuate frail residents.
A homeowner in Butte LaRose in the Atchafalaya River basin left a poignantly humorous message posted outside his house: “Hope you appreciate this, Baton Rouge. You’re welcome.” At the bottom of the sign he drew an arrow pointing downward, with a request, “Water, please stay below this line.”
The river is expected to crest in Baton Rouge, then in New Orleans over the coming two weeks.
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