The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative
Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other
shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org.
May 16, 2011

Key Mississippi Floodgate Opened Up as Waters Rise, Tens of Thousands Threatened 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------



The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have opened up a key Mississippi River
floodgate for the first time in four decades, putting thousands of homes
and large portions of farmland at risk. The Morganza floodgate has been
opened in an effort to divert the swollen Mississippi River from
flooding the cities of New Orleans and Baton Rouge, as well as a number
of oil refineries and chemical plants located on the edge of the river.
Some 25,000 people and 11,000 structures in the heart of Louisiana Cajun
country could be affected by the diverted water. In Vicksburg,
Mississippi, the river has already risen a record-setting 13 feet above
flood stage.



.