Troops are guarding Mississippi levees and Vicksburg fuel barges already are having difficulty maneuvering under bridges, according to local news reports. Such hazards mean the Coast Guard could close the Mississippi River from Baton Rouge to the Gulf when it hits the 18-foot level at Carrollton, Miss., perhaps as soon as Monday, AP reported. The Mississippi Levee Board now expects Greensville, Miss., to crest at 65 feet on May 16, 4 feet above the 100-year flood level and 7 feet above the 1973 highwater levels. The Delta Council expects it would take five days for the river to cover more than a million acres in the South Delta, erasing farmers' dreams of $2 cotton and $7 corn for the 2011 crop. Already, 12,000 acres of corn and soybeans are under water at the northeast corner of Louisiana where an abandoned levee was overrun by the Mississippi River. All told, it is estimated 3 million acres are flooded.
