Historic flood begins to abate, but far from over

By Michael Kunzelman

Associated Press

Published: Saturday, June 4 2011 8:55 a.m. MDT

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In this June 1, 2011 photograph farmer Brett Robinson stands on the road between his flooded farm fields near his house outside of Yazoo City, Miss. Robinson hopes to soon plant soybeans on a small fraction of his land to replace the corn he lost, but about 1,300 acres are still flooded. Even the parts he could plant may be littered with logs or other debris, all of which he must cleared out. And Robinson hopes for a good rain to help clear away the smell of standing floodwaters that permeates the land.

Rogelio V. Solis, Associated Press

Summary

The Mississippi River flood of 2011 may seem like a thing of the past for people who fled rising waters that never came. However, the final toll is shrouded in murky water for thousands of people devastated as the flood made its way from the Midwest to the Gulf of Mexico.

JACKSON, Miss. — The Mississippi River flood of 2011 may seem like a thing of the past for people who fled rising waters that never came. However, the final toll is shrouded in murky water for thousands of people devastated as the flood made its way from the Midwest to the Gulf of Mexico.

Thousands of acres of crops, timber and catfish farms are still flooded, mostly by tributaries that backed up because the Mississippi River was so high. Hundreds have been displaced, while others had nothing to go home to.

Along Louisiana's Atchafalaya River, hundreds evacuated when the Army Corps of Engineers opened the Morganza floodway. But dire forecasts that water could inundate the town of Butte LaRose haven't come to fruition.

The evacuation order was lifted, and most homes were spared.

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