Record-breaking floods force engineers to blow up Mississippi
River levee On Monday evening, the Army Corps of Engineers will
flood farms in southern Missouri to save river towns, after a
legal challenge by the Missouri attorney general failed Sunday.
(Page 2 of 2) The floodway's standard operating plan calls for
the Army Corps of Engineers to move barges, laden with
explosives, into position along the riverfront levee whenever
flooding reaches 59 feet at Cairo. By the time the river reaches
60 feet, the explosives should be set in place. The Mississippi
River Commission can give the OK to breach the levee when the
river rises to 61 feet at Cairo, with higher levels
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By noon on Monday, the Ohio River at Cairo had reached 61.15
feet. The National Weather Service's Advanced Hydrological
Prediction Service estimates the Ohio will crest at slightly
more than 63 feet, Wednesday night. By allowing the water to
spread out over the man-made basin, corps of