Memphis, Tennessee (CNN) - Waging war on a flood of historic proportions that has already affected thousands in eight Midwestern and Southern states, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers flooded a spillway north of New Orleans in an effort to calm the rising Mississippi River.
A crowd gathered near the gates of the Bonnet Carré Spillway to watch cranes slide open the gates to 28 of the spillway's 350 bays built beginning in 1929 after a devastating flood two years earlier.
Upstream in Memphis, Tennessee, residents and authorities anxiously waited for Mississippi to crest at a near-record 14 feet above flood stage. Read More
CNN"s Ali Velshi speaks to Mayor A C Wharton, Jr., Mayor of Memphis about the current conditions in his state.
CERT Community Emergency Response Team. look it up on line.
Why do these goofy tv reporters feel compelled to stand in flood waters?