Mississippi River Expected To Crest At 48 Feet
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WJZ) — There are serious flooding concerns in the mid-South, where all eyes are on the mighty Mississippi. The nation's longest river is expected to crest in about 48 hours.
Adam May reports some neighborhoods are already under water.
Hundreds of houses in Tennessee are already submerged, as residents prepare for epic flooding of the Mississippi River.
"We have a high confidence level as we've met with the National Weather Service this morning that the crest will be around 48 feet," said Bob Nations Jr., preparedness agency.
That's just seven inches shy of the all time record set back in 1937.
"We are very concerned because we realize that it is all unpredictable," said Stacey Cobb, of Arkansas.
Tributaries are also rising fast, flooding parts of Arkansas, Kentucky and Missouri.
"There's houses destroyed already, there's people. It's sad; trying to help people that we can, all we're doing," said one flood survivor.
In Des Arc, Ark., more than 1,000 people are in emergency shelters.
"Our son is 6, and he doesn't understand. He asked to go home the other day. So, that was sort of hard," said Beverly McIntosh, center director.
"My house is . . . I can't get to it unless I go by boat," said one flood survivor.
Miles downstream, New Orleans is on alert.
The river is expected to crest 2.5 feet above flood stage.
"These are historic flows, these are historic stages. We haven't seen this kind of water since 1927, and there's no doubt that we're going to see a lot of water," said Col. Ed Fleming, Army Corps of Engineers.
So far more than 1,300 people have been told to evacuate in the Memphis area. The river is expected to crest Tuesday.
