More floods predicted in 2016 for Mississippi
Major floods are predicted to take place on the Mississippi River this year that may match or even exceeding 2011 flood levels, according to risk modelling company AIR.
The prediction comes after relentless precipitation was experienced in the Midwestern region of the US last week, causing flooding along the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers and their tributaries.
A state of emergency was declared in Missouri, where National Guard troops were activated to assist with evacuations.
“Persistent precipitation, together with strong winds and tornadoes in the last few weeks, affected two large regions of the United States from Texas to Ohio and from Mississippi to North Carolina,” said Dr Hemant Chowdhary, principal scientist at AIR.
“Warmer-than-usual winter temperatures and an infusion of warm tropical moisture created conditions for heavy, sustained rainfall across large sections of the central and southern United States, with many areas experiencing 12 inches of rain or more.
“The midwestern region has endured repeated precipitation events in the last month, including a significant snowfall over the Thanksgiving holiday. Meltwater from the resulting snowpack contributed to the high volumes observed in the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. In mid-December, another winter storm brought heavy snowfall to the Plains states and severe rain throughout the Mississippi River Valley. In southern Missouri, over 10 inches of rain fell in a period of 36 hours.”
Federal officials are monitoring 19 vulnerable levees along the Mississippi River in the states of Missouri and Illinois, where at least 22 deaths have been reported as a result of the flooding.
Flood defences protecting the city of St. Louis are engineered to provide flood protection to a river stage of 54 feet, more than 4 feet above the record crest set in 1993.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) defines “major flooding” to indicate extensive inundation of structures and roads, and significant evacuations of people and/or transfer of property to higher elevations.
