Mississippi River News

Viewpoint: Nature-Based Flood Mitigation Can Help Mississippi River Farmers

The 2019 flooding of the Mississippi, Missouri and Arkansas Rivers in the United States impacted 19 states and caused $20 billion in losses. Waters in Baton Rouge, Louisiana stayed above flood levels for 211 days, longer than any flood in …

3 Gulf Coast States Get $88M in Disaster Funds for Fisheries Flooding

NEW ORLEANS — Three Gulf Coast states are getting more than $88 million in fisheries disaster funds for damage from last year’s flooding, which included an unprecedented two openings of a spillway west of New Orleans. “These funds will help …

Barges Hit Mississippi Bridge, Some Drift Into 2nd Bridge

VICKSBURG, Miss. — Barges hit a 90-year-old railroad bridge over the Mississippi River, and some broke away and drifted back into a parallel newer bridge under which they had just passed on Monday. The old U.S. 80 railroad bridge was …

Already Braced for Covid-19, Towns Watch the Rising Mississippi With Fear

From her home window, Belinda Constant, mayor of Gretna, Louisiana, watches the mighty Mississippi flow by. Beyond it are the sparkling lights of New Orleans. She views both warily these days. New Orleans is a hot spot for Covid-19, and …

3 Missing After Barge Crash on Mississippi River

LULING, La. — Three people were missing after two barge towing vessels collided Sunday on the Mississippi River in an accident that also may have released a small amount of toxic vapor into the air, the Coast Guard said. The …

U.S. Had 14 Weather Disasters Costing $1 Billion or More in 2019

The U.S. had 14 weather disasters costing $1 billion or more last year, with Midwest flooding accounting for almost half of the total, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Flooding from the Missouri, Mississippi and Arkansas rivers caused …

Flooded Mississippi a Threat as Hurricane Season Heats Up

NEW ORLEANS — The river that drains much of the flood-soaked United States is still running far higher than normal, menacing New Orleans in multiple ways just as the hurricane season intensifies. For months now, a massive volume of water …

Mississippi River City Ponders a Wall it has Long Rejected

DAVENPORT, Iowa — Hundreds of communities line the Mississippi River on its 2,348-mile journey to the Gulf of Mexico, but Davenport, Iowa, stands out for the simple reason that people there can actually dip their toes in the river without …

Barry to Unleash Life-Threatening Floods in Louisiana

Barry weakened to a tropical depression but was set to cause more life-threatening floods through Monday on its march northward. Dangerous flash floods were likely across parts of central Louisiana into far southwest Mississippi on Monday morning. The storm was …

Tropical Storm Barry Set to Dump Two Feet of Rain on Louisiana

The leading edge of Tropical Storm Barry’s wind and rain is reaching Louisiana, where communities including New Orleans are bracing for a downpour that threatens to inundate already-high waterways. As much as 25 inches (64 centimeters) of rain could fall …