WORLD
Thousands to evacuate Mississippi River
Baku, May 10 (AZERTAC). U.S. authorities have warned that 3,000 to 5,000 residents around the Mississippi River may be forced to evacuate the area due to flooding.
The Mississippi River, swollen with winter snow melt and rain, is carrying near record flows slowly south to New Orleans where the crest may be at least two weeks away.
The river is projected to crest at Osceola, Arkansas, early on Monday and projected to crest on Tuesday in Memphis at 48 feet-just inches shy of the record.
Evacuation warnings have been issued to more than 1,300 residences in the Memphis area, and officials say they expect nearly 3,000 properties to suffer some impact from flooding.
“By and large, our communities are functioning, but there are dangerous areas,” Reuters quoted the Shelby County Office of Preparedness director Bob Nations as saying on Monday.
The National Weather Service said it does not expect significant rain over the next several days that would exacerbate the flood projections.
Downstream in the state of Mississippi, record crests are expected at Vicksburg on May 20 and at Natchez on May 22.
This year`s flooding is set to eclipse numerous crest records set mainly in 1927 and 1937. The Great Flood of 1927 killed hundreds of people and swelled the Lower Mississippi to 80 miles wide in some parts.