After reaching its crest last week in Greenville, the Mississippi River is making its descent.
The Mississippi River reached flood stage every month this year, with its highest peak happening April 10 at 54.5 feet.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the Greenville gauge measured at 54.2 feet, which is 6.2 feet higher than the 48-foot flood stage. The river is expected to drop to 50 feet within a week and is expected to drop below flood stage within two weeks, according to Mississippi Levee Board Chief Engineer Peter Nimrod.
Despite the flooding this year, Nimrod said it hasn’t been anything to be worried about.
“We’ve reached 54.5 the last few years in a row … and we haven’t had any issues at all and we don’t expect any issues from this,” Nimrod previously said.
As of Tuesday, Lower and Upper Lake Ferguson roads remained flooded.
Also as of Tuesday, the river in Vicksburg was cresting at 50.4 feet, which is several feet higher than it’s 43-foot flood stage; and Natchez was cresting at 57.5 feet, which is almost 10 feet higher than its 48-food flood stage.
Highway 465 near Eagle Lake on the unprotected side of the levee is flooded and goes under on the Vicksburg gage at 46.5 feet.
The biggest concern for people along the river, he said, has been the Yazoo Backwater, which crested at 96.6 feet March 5.
As of Tuesday, the backwater (landslide) was at 96.29 feet and the riverside was at 98.82 feet.
The Steele Bayou Structure Gates remain closed. At 96.3 feet, there are 480,000 acres of land flooded, including 190,000 acres of crop land.
