warning Hi, we've moved to USCANNENBERGMEDIA.COM. Visit us there!

Neon Tommy - Annenberg digital news

Spillways Open In Louisiana As Thousands Evacuate

Ryan Faughnder |
May 14, 2011 | 12:20 p.m. PDT

Senior News Editor

 

UPDATE: Sat., 5:45 p.m.

The Associated Press has new, raw video coverage of the opening of the spillway that relieved pressure on the levees protecting New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

Bloomberg reports that the levees can withstand a flow of 1.5 million cubic feet per second. The rate of flooding Saturday exceeded 1.62 million cubic feet per second:

Within 20 minutes after the first gate was lifted, several square miles of the Atchafalaya River basin were submerged. The spillway, built in 1954 and not opened since 1973, can release 600,000 cubic feet per second of water at maximum capacity. It may send enough water to fill a football field 10 feet deep every second across the heart of what is known as Cajun country, eventually filling an area almost as large as Connecticut.

Read more here.

UPDATE: Sat., 5:30 p.m.

The USDA and FEMA have release a joint statement on the intentional flooding of rural parts of Louisiana, saying both that the opening of the floodgates was necessary and that farmers whose crops are ruined by the floods could expect relief from government agencies.

Here is an excerpt from the statement (via Politico):

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.

USDA wants to assure all producers who purchased crop insurance and whose crops have been damaged by the flooding, that you will be eligible for crop insurance indemnities in accordance with the provisions of your crop insurance policy. To all of those producers who are unable to plant, but have purchased crop insurance, you will be eligible for prevented planting payments in accordance with your policy.

In preparation for flooding, under the leadership of Secretary Napolitano, FEMA has already embedded staff, including top officials, in the state's emergency operations center to coordinate closely with our state and local partners and has pre-positioned commodities in strategic locations that can be deployed to assist Louisiana and other states quickly, if needed.

UPDATE: WBRZ in Louisiana is reporting live on the floods here

Thousands of residents fled as the Army Corp of Engineers prepared to open spillways in Louisiana to help avoid a statewide catastrophe Saturday afternoon, according to reports. The opening of the spillway was supposed to prevent the complete failure of the levees protecting major cities. The Associated Press reported that the opening on the Morganza spillway could put about 25,000 people and 11,000 structures in harm's way. 

From AP:

Opening the spillway will release a torrent that could submerge about 3,000 square miles under as much as 25 feet of water in some areas but take the pressure off the downstream levees protecting New Orleans, Baton Rouge and the numerous oil refineries and chemical plants along the lower reaches of the Mississippi.

"Protecting lives is the No. 1 priority," Army Corps of Engineers Maj. Gen. Michael Walsh said at a news conference aboard a vessel on the river at Vicksburg. A few hours later, the corps made the decision to open the key spillway and inundate thousands of homes and farms in Louisiana's Cajun country to avert a potentially bigger disaster in Baton Rouge and New Orleans.

Watch AP's video of the evacuation procedures:


The corp set up a live stream of the flooding:

Reach Ryan Faughnder here.



 

Buzz

Craig Gillespie directed this true story about "the most daring rescue mission in the history of the U.S. Coast Guard.”

Watch USC Annenberg Media's live State of the Union recap and analysis here.