Delta prepares for worst as flood waters rise

THE Mississippi River crested in Memphis at nearly 48 feet (14.6m), falling short of its all-time record but still soaking low-lying areas with enough water to require a massive clean-up. To the south, residents in the Mississippi Delta prepared for the worst.

National Weather Service meteorologist Bill Borghoff said the river reached 47.85ft at 2am and was expected to stay very close to that level for the next 24 to 36 hours. Hitting the high point means things shouldn’t get worse, but it will take weeks for the water to recede and much longer for inundated areas to recover.

“Pretty much the damage has been done,” Borghoff said.

In states downstream, farmers built homemade levees to protect their crops while engineers diverted water into a lake to ease the pressure on levees around New Orleans.

Inmates in Louisiana’s largest prison were evacuated to higher ground.

The Memphis crest is below the record of 48.7ft recorded during a flood in 1937.

The soaking was isolated to low-lying neighbourhoods, and forced hundreds of people from their homes — including nearly 500 in shelters yesterday — but no new serious flooding was expected.

Officials trusted the levees would hold and protect the city’s world-famous musical landmarks, from Graceland to Beale Street.