AP: Watching the river rise
Source: Associated Press
"The last time we had a river of this level and magnitude was 11 years ago," said A.J. Gibbs, president of the Crescent River Port Pilots' Association, a group of pilots who navigate ocean-going ships into New Orleans.
"When the river's this high, you can't make any mistakes," he said. "We had a ship leave out of here yesterday that was 997 feet long, 131 feet wide. That's over three football fields long, and you have to deal with these conditions."
The conditions led the Coast Guard last Friday to limit the number of barges towboats can push in the lower Mississippi. Boaters were urged to exercise extra caution.
And there have been accidents. Last week, a Greek-flagged freighter ran aground near New Orleans and caused 60 nearby barges to break loose from their moorings. On Tuesday, a stretch of the river was closed near Vicksburg when a barge sank after hitting a bridge.
"There are many contributing factors and high water is one that we'll take into consideration," said Petty Officer James Harless, a Coast Guard spokesman in New Orleans.
Meanwhile, teams are scouring hundreds of miles of levees, looking for erosion and water seepage and keeping a close eye on past trouble spots.
I like the part in the article where the COE says it is not yet concerned. Wow. I feel so much better now.
