>>>
goodefeening. we're in the midst of awful flooding along the
mississippi river
. the worst part is ahead, according to a lot of the experts. surging, unpredictable water flowing toward the
mississippi delta
now. the river is taking aim at one of the most poverty stricken parts of the country after laying waste to a big chunk of the gambling industry, hundreds of homes, and just about on its way through
memphis
, tennessee, and it's not too early to say new orleans and the surrounding region could be in flood trouble as this flows south on top of all the troubles we have had. we want to start with
anne thompson
in
louisiana
. good evening.
>> reporter:
good evening, brian. louisianians are busy tonight, preparing for this historic flood which has already done so much damage upriver. as the
mississippi river
barrels south, satellite images reveal its relentless and destructive impact. this was
memphis
on
april 21st
before the flood, and this was
memphis
yesterday. much of the city underwater as the
mississippi
reclaims its territory. the damage here pegged at $320 million. the swamped casinos in tunica could lose up to $87 million just this month. one economist said the toll could reach $4 billion. up and down the
raging river
, people race against the clock, filling sandbacks in yazue,
mississippi
. crews built this temporary levee in the shadow of
louisiana
's i-10 that crosses a
river basin
.
>>
it will be the back-up of the water trying to get out into the gulf. it backs up on us.
>>
that's if officials open the
morganza spillway
, a relief valve for the
mississippi river
but a potential disaster for part of southwestern
mississippi
. it could impact 13,000 buildings, 25,000 people, and 3 million acres of land. 2 1/2 acres belong to john mennard. he's paking up his home and heading for higher ground, leaving his home shattered for this big tough oil working. what is it like to think about losing your house.
>>
no words, no words. i built this myself.
>> reporter:
the river is already above 19 feet. the
national weather service
has marked a tell phone pole to show residents what could happen. if they open the spillway gates at 50%, so half are open, we're expecting the level to get to 29.
>>
john menard
is resigned.
>>
mother nature
is
mother nature
, and there's not much you can do about it, you know.
>> reporter:
few here are willing to take a chance on
mother nature
. even though the flood is not expecting to hit here until next week, today, we found nurses moving homebound patients out of harm's way.
>>
we have to talk about new orleans, a city which when you mention it, you think of katrina katrina, the
oil spill
. a city in recovery, continuing to shine, and what is it in for them and this flood.
>> reporter:
well, they're watching the river levels carefully, as you can imagine. city officials met with the
army corps
of enj noor nears today, and they decided if the rivers rise one more foot, they're going to have to close the floot gate, and that means closeing the
port of new orleans
. and that's bad news.
anne thompson
starting us off from
louisiana
. thanks as always.
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