That is an issue. The thing that made the 1927 flood so bad was that there were three flood surges coming down the valley strung out behind each other. When the first one hit the flat coastal plain and the gradient flattened it slowed down and then the second and third surges piled onto it and topped the levees everywhere. This flood looks like a single surge, but it is a really big and sustained one.
in 2008, the river crested at 43.09 ft in Baton Rouge, was the highest it had been since 1997, and was the 6th-highest crest in Baton Rouge since the Great Flood of 1927 what they are planning to do now, even with the opening of the spillways upriver, is maintain a crest of 45 feet in Baton Rouge, which will be the highest crest since it hit 45.18 feet in 1945.... 66 years ago. So unless you were around in Baton Rouge 66 years ago, you haven't seen anything like this. on top of that, it's not just the peak crest that is the issue... another issue is the length of time that this 45 feet crest is going to have to be maintained in Baton Rouge. i haven't seen confirmation of this, but the news was saying up to 3 weeks and another issue is the velocity of the river. i don't know how the current velocity and/or prolonged time of the high crest stacks up against other historic floods, but i did read quotes like the following: NOAA projected crest for Baton Rouge for the next 5 days: LMRFC - Mississippi and Ohio River Forecast
You're not getting it. The Morganza is being opened this year precisely because something like this has not happened before. Or at least, it hasn't happened to this degree of severity. The water in Morgan City comes above the wharves on the Atchafalaya and laps up to the seawall's edge every year. By this Wednesday, the water will be 6 feet up that wall. It is an impressive wall, but this will be the first time it will actually have to do what it was built for. And the fact that they are still allowing barge traffic down the river throws the possibility of human error into the equation. Believe us all, this is very different from previous springs.
No, I do get it. Anytime the water gets to the levee it puts stress on it. What I'm saying is between 43 and 47 feet there is always a danger. This year may be minutely more dangerous than past years when it got past 43 feet. The difference this year is the Morganza had to be opened thereby decreasing the level at Baton Rouge. They won't stop barge traffic due to the money involved. I saw in a recnet article that it cost $250,000,000 a day when they shut down the river due to that gas line rupture a few years ago. Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead.
hope you didnt put any money on that. Costly Miss. River closure meant to protect levees - Yahoo! News
