Mississippi River flooding in New Orleans area could be massive if Morganza spillway stays closed

The Times-Picayune ^ | 5.11.11 | Mark Schleifstein

[trumandogz]

If the Morganza Floodway is not opened to funnel 300,000 cubic feet per second of water from the Mississippi River into the Atchafalaya River basin, the additional water could cause levees to fail along the river from Morganza to Plaquemines Parish, including all of the New Orleans area, resulting in as much as 25 feet of floodwater, according to a map provided to state officials by the Army Corps of Engineers on Tuesday.

[ClearCase_guy]

In the long run, the cheapest option may be to move New Orleans to a new location -- one which is less flood prone.

IMO, it's a troubled city in a bad location.

[ctdonath2]

Historically, flood zones had the best cropland ‘cuz natural organic nutrients would get dumped there. Working with it can give good results.

Our modern approach of containing and preventing floods is the unnatural solution leading to questionable results.

The farmland will recover fast. The cities won’t (though maybe it will be a wake-up call to DON’T BUILD CITIES IN A FLOOD ZONE).

[ladyjane]

The S has already HTF in New Orleans. The place is a mess.

Look at the Japanese. They’re not sitting around complaining. They are working to restore their country. Compare the Japanese with the folks in NOLA. They’ll still be whining 5 years from now.

[cherry]

it was okay for Texas to burn,for Nashville and now Memphis to be flooded, and all the thousands of acres of mid America farm country to be devastated by tornadoes and now floods, but gee the Chocolate City?....I’ll bet we’ll see National Guard bailing by bucket in the near future...maybe we can spend another $90,000 on EACH N’Orleans resident like we did following Katrina....

[DManA]

Half the continent drains through this tiny channel in La. The force if the water flowing there now really is inconceivable.

[dfwgator]

I wonder if Sean Penn is already there with his Dixie Cups.

[muawiyah]

Levees only go so far then you get the big thousand year storm and it floods on both sides.

Best you put big holes in them now so they'll drain off before August!

[MsLady]

Some of those area’s that are flooding I don’t think have flood in decades. But, I suppose your right. I just saw a farmer crying the other day because his farm land is underwater. I do feel badly for the farmers. The work so hard and most of them make so little.

[Responsibility2nd]

Jindal has already warned people to get ready to move out.

I can easily see the idiots in New Orleans sitting on their lard butts waiting to be rescued and saved by the gubmint.

I wonder if the Super Dome is up to a repeat of 2005?

[Jim Noble]

Where’s Brownie when we need him?

[dfwgator]

Jindal has already warned people to get ready to move out.

Won't matter, it will still be his fault.

[muawiyah]

And again, over half that water flows through a tiny channel at Cairo where the far more voluminous Ohio joins the Mississippi.

So why, you might ask, are there people living in New Orleans and Cairo, and that would be a good question. Cairo is in a long term state of serious decay and depopulation. Paducah and Evansville, far safer from the river's course, have taken on the burdens of human commerce in the Delta.

[redgolum]

But there are less votes damaged when you flood farms.

[muawiyah]

NOt just a “flood zone”, but a “Flood Path”. New Orleans is literally the bed of the Mississippi lower delta. There’s no excuse for building below sealevel!

[CajunConservative]

The mayor is Mitch Landrieu, baby brother to Mary.

[MsLady]

I suppose but, how hard is it to control something like water? The end results can be good or bad. My guess is there is now good way of predicting that. I feel terrible for the people that are caught in this. What a mess. The thing about building cities in flood areas is, some of those areas don’t flood very often. I would think you could say the same thing about earthquake zones. Unless it’s an area that gets flood pretty often, like maybe ever decade, I’d say just stay put but, be prepared and try to get flood insurance if you can.

[DManA]

I don’t minimize the pain and expense of abandoning those sites but I agree, when you look at the plain facts it seems like a no brainer. Especially Cairo. According to Wiki the population is only 2,831. Come on.

[DManA]

A million cfs? Are you kidding?

I suppose but, how hard is it to control something like water?

[Rebelbase]

Interesting link:

False River Background

http://www.wetmaap.org/False_River/Suppliment/fr_background.html

[trumandogz]

There is a huge misconception about the frequency of flooding in New Orleans. For example, I own a few houses in New Orleans, one of which has been in the family for 80 years and it has never flooded. New Orleans does not flood often, but it does flood big when it does flood.

Other parts of the city have flooded in 1965 and 2005 due to hurricanes which makes New Orleans much less flood prone than areas in the upper Mississippi and Missouri Rivers.