Mississippi River Flood in 2011: $2.8B in Economic Damage

The Mississippi River flooding of 2011 caused $2.8 billion in damage and tested the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ system of levees, reservoirs and floodways like never before, exposing vulnerabilities that need attention, a report said.

The flood hit 119 counties in the lower Mississippi River states of Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee. More than 21,000 homes and businesses and 1.2 million acres of agricultural land were affected, and more than 43,000 people felt some effects.

The Mississippi River and Tributaries system operated as it was designed and was mostly successful in fighting the flood along most of the nation’s most important inland waterway, the corps said. However, the spring floods exposed vulnerabilities in many parts of the system. The report said there is room for improvement in all areas.

“The magnitude of the event tested the system and its individual components like no flood before it,” the report said.

Nearly all of the levee or floodwall systems experienced some damage. The floodways at Birds Point-New Madrid in Illinois, and the Morganza Floodway and Bonnet Carre Spillway were opened to relieve the stress on the system for the first time during a single flood.

Total economic damages were pegged at $2.8 billion. The corps spent nearly $60 million while directly fighting the flood from March to August.

The corps is using $802 million approved by Congress in 2011 to make critical and non-critical fixes “to prepare for the next high water event.” Most repairs will be completed this year, but several “critical repair” projects are expected to extend into 2015 and 2016.

Topics Flood Mississippi