Latest Mississippi Headlines
All the headlines from our Mississippi Topic Page, ordered by recency.
States Hit Hardest by Recent Tornadoes Among Least Insured
May 27 2011 // Many of the states hammered by what’s already the deadliest year for tornadoes in more than half a century have among the nation’s highest rates of homes without hazard insurance despite being among the most...
As Water Inches Closer, an Agonizing Wait in Louisiana
May 23 2011 // The final wave of holdouts has mostly packed up and left this Louisiana town as water from the swollen Atchafalaya River has inched toward their homes, with their frustration and hope painted on signs posted...
Mississippi Limits Home Premium Hikes Tied to Fire Risk Classification
May 20 2011 // Mississippi regulators have moved to limit homeowners’ insurance premium hikes that result from changes in an insurer’s fire grading system. Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney has instructed...
Mississippi River Closed to Traffic at Natchez
May 17 2011 // The key waterway for U.S. grain exports was cut off Monday when the U.S. Coast Guard closed the Mississippi River near Natchez, Mississippi. The Coast Guard said 15 miles of the Mississippi was closed to all traffic to...
Louisiana Floodwaters Creep Toward Bayou Towns
May 16 2011 // Waters unleashed by the opening of a key Mississippi River floodway crept through the Louisiana bayou Monday in a surge that could leave thousands of homes and farms under as much as 20 feet of water. The U.S. Army Corps...
Floodway Opening a Blessing for Louisiana Refineries
May 16 2011 // The opening of a key spillway to relieve flooding along the Mississippi River could create logistical headaches for big Gulf Coast refiners, but will likely spare the lion’s share of the area’s refining...
Weather Pattern Behind Current Mississippi River Flood Similar to 1993
May 16 2011 // The flooding that has inundated low-lying communities and farmland for miles along the Upper and Lower Mississippi River is due to a large, slow-moving storm system that was spawned nearly a month ago. “The flooding...
Housing Assistance Dollars Heading to Arkansas
May 15 2011 // About $4.2 million is heading to Arkansas to help with housing and other needs following recent flooding, state and federal emergency management officials said. Housing assistance is provided to individuals, families and...
Louisiana Governor: We’re Not Waiting for the Corps on Flooding Issues
May 13 2011 // Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal said that while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has not given specific time for opening the Morganza Spillway on the Mississippi River upstream from New Orleans to reduce the possibility of...
House Committee Passes Flood Insurance Extension, Reform Bill
May 13 2011 // As flood waters continued rising along the Mississippi River, a House committee yesterday unanimously approved bipartisan legislation to extend the federal flood insurance program for five years and introduce financial...
Flooded River Taking Aim at Mississippi Delta
May 12 2011 // The Mississippi River took aim at one of the most poverty-stricken parts of the U.S. Wednesday, leaving some low-lying Memphis neighborhoods inundated, but the city’s high levees protected much of the rest. In...
Louisiana Town Works to Save Economic Engine From Flood
May 11 2011 // They call it the Vidalia Riverfront — a strip of land between the Mississippi River and the levee, with a park, walking trail, a camp ground, and $75 million worth of buildings that generate 300 jobs for this town of...
Mississippi Jury Awards $322 Million in Asbestos Suit
May 10 2011 // A jury has awarded $322 million to a Mississippi man who claimed he inhaled asbestos dust while mixing drilling mud sold and manufactured by Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. and Union Carbide Corp. Allen Hossley, a Dallas...
Memphis Battles Rising Mississippi River
May 10 2011 // The Mississippi rose toward the highest level ever in the river city of Memphis, flooding pockets of low-lying neighborhoods and forcing more than 1,000 people from their homes, though the water was not threatening the...
Louisiana Prepares for Higher Water Levels Than Expected
May 5 2011 // Emergency officials in Louisiana are preparing for even higher Mississippi River water levels than had previously been estimated, after additional rain fell in the lower Ohio River Valley, according to Gov. Bobby...
Missouri Farmers Sue Over Levee Breach; Feds Say Help Available
May 5 2011 // The dramatic, late-night demolition of a huge earthen levee sent chocolate-colored floodwaters pouring onto thousands of acres of Missouri farmland on May 3, easing the threat to a tiny Illinois town being menaced by the...
Mayor Orders Flood-Threatened Illinois City Evacuated
May 2 2011 // Authorities in a southern Illinois city menaced by two dangerously swollen rivers said on May 1 that most of the city’s remaining residents have heeded a mandatory evacuation order, prompted by river water seeping up...
BP Claims Fund Faces Critics, Legal Challenges
May 2 2011 // One year after the Gulf oil spill, BP Plc is facing challenges to its effort to contain another kind of disaster: mass litigation. The oil giant last June established a $20 billion compensation fund for victims such as...
Obama, Cabinet Vow Urgent Aid for Storm-Battered Southern States
May 1 2011 // Federal officials vowed urgent support Sunday for a region devastated by the deadliest U.S. natural disaster since Hurricane Katrina, even as they acknowledged recovery would not be quick or easy. President Barack...
Tornadoes, Storms Rip South, at Least 228 Dead
Apr 28 2011 // Tornadoes and violent storms ripped through seven southern U.S. states, killing at least 228 people as they flattened neighborhoods, flipped cars and toppled trees and power lines. In the deadliest series of tornadoes in...
