Mississippi River flood over after 162 Consecutive Days

It was just after 5 p.m. on a lazy Sunday afternoon, July 28, 2019, that the longest Mississippi River flood since the Great Flood of 1927, ended.

At 5 p.m. the river stage at Vicksburg was 43.01 feet, just a notch above flood stage. By 6 p.m. it was over.

This flood event began last September when unusually large amounts of rain fell in the Ohio Valley including record rainfall in Pennsylvania. After a hurricane and seemingly endless rain, the river continued to rise until January when it topped flood stage for a few days before falling back below the marker for about two weeks. By February 12, the river had risen again and topped flood stage beginning this long five-month-plus flood.

The South Delta is still above flood stage. The Great Backwater Flood of 2019 will continue for another couple of weeks for most of its residents; however, dry land is showing up in places where it hasn’t been seen since March. People are elated to see their driveways and parts of their fields even though there is still a lot of water around them. Flood victim Rita Foster commented on Facebook what many are thinking: “Seeing our road after six months, yesss!”

465 near Eagle Lake

Some areas of the Backwater will remain under water for several more weeks. One such area is at Eagle Lake behind the levees. Water has seeped through the levees and pooled in the low spots. This water has nowhere to go because it is surrounded by levees and either has to be pumped out of the area or evaporate. Most of the homes in this area stayed dry until Tropical Storm Barry came through earlier this month and dropped a few more inches of rain on the area.

Beginning Saturday, a group of volunteers gathered to set up the pumps needed to remove water from that Eagle Lake area. “There are now four pumps running inside the Brunswick (levee) as of 4 p.m. today,” said Eagle Lake Assistant Fire Chief Chris Libbey on Sunday. He expects that it will take a couple of weeks of pumping to get the water out of that bowl.

Homes behind the levee with trapped water. The flood will last a few extra weeks for these residents.

Water is coming off the roadways as well, but opening the roads may also take a little longer according to the Department of Transportation. Many roadways have been damaged and there are clear dangers in traveling roads that have been underwater for several months.

“Before opening a heavily flooded roadway, debris removal, bridge inspections, cross-drain inspections, roadway inspections and necessary repairs will need to take place,” DOT said in a  statement July 25.

A road that has been damaged by the flood waters.

What is not clear is the damage that may exist under the ground. Culverts may be compromised, soil may have eroded and other dangers may exist. There is still a great deal of water in the ground and that water weakens the soil under the roads. Continue to use caution, and do not travel on a roadway that is closed.