Mississippi River floods Memphis neighborhoods

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Mississippi River floods Memphis neighborhoods

Memphis braces for Mississippi River's rising

River traffic continues on the flooded Mississippi River at Memphis. The Mississippi River rose Monday to levels not seen in Memphis since the 1930s, swamping homes in low-lying neighborhoods but posing no threat to the city's world-famous musical landmarks, including Graceland and Beale Street.

Homes on Mud Island sit in floodwater Tuesday in Memphis. The Mississippi River crested in Memphis at nearly 48 feet on Tuesday, falling short of its all-time record but still soaking low-lying areas with enough water to require a massive cleanup.

Water from the flooded Mississippi River rises close to the Pyramid arena in downtown Memphis, Tenn.

Louisiana National Guardsmen use machinery to fill Hesco baskets with sand to protect residential neighborhoods Tuesday in preparation of impending flooding from the likely diversion of Mississippi River floodwaters into the Atchafalaya Basin, in Morgan City, La.

Robert and Carrie Medders and their daughter, Aleigha, 6 (left), take advantage of the swollen Mississippi River floodwaters to cool off on Tuesday in Memphis.

Floodwaters reached a residential area in Memphis.

Traffic moves along the Interstate 40 bridge between Memphis, Tenn., and West Memphis, Ark., over the flood-swollen Mississippi River. As residents waited for the river to reach its peak as early as Monday night those downstream in Mississippi and Louisiana evacuated prisoners and diverted water from the river in an attempt to stave off catastrophic flooding that has a long history of hitting the area.

Phillip Wallace gets a push from inmates as he tries to tow sandbags up a levee with his lawnmower in Butte LaRose, La., Tuesday. Wallace was delivering sandbags that were filled by inmates to local residents who did not have access to a truck in advance of possible flooding brought on by the planned opening of the Morganza Spillway.

Raymond Cooper catches this giant catfish while fishing the flooded battue in New Orleans.

A levee holds the swollen Mississippi River away from downtown Helena West Helena, Ark.

Cars stand submerged in overflow water from the Wolf River on McMiller Road in Memphis, Tenn.

Trash floats by flooded homes in Memphis homes Monday. Because of heavy rain over the past few weeks and snowmelt along the upper reaches of the Mississippi, the river has broken high-water records upstream and inundated low-lying towns and farmland.

Floodwaters from the Mississippi River inundate casinos at Tunica, Miss. The water on the Mississippi is so high that the rivers and creeks that feed into it are backed up, and that has accounted for some of the worst of the flooding so far.

Hangars at General DeWitt Spain Airport are flooded by water from the Mississippi River at Memphis, Tenn. Federal officials say Memphis is seeing the worst of the Mississippi River disaster and that no new areas are expected to see any serious flooding.

Wooden shipping pallets make a walkway to a home as it sits flooded Saturday, May 7, 2011 in Tiptonville, Tenn, as Memphis readied for the mighty Mississippi to bring its furor to town.

Rising Mississippi River waters, held back by a levee, slowly creep toward Nottoway Plantation in White Castle, La.

Floodwater from the Mississippi River approaches homes on the north end of Tiptonville, Tenn.

A resident on a bulldozer raises a levee in Satartia, Miss., south of Yazoo City, as water laps at the homes in the rural community. Residents and farmers along the Mississippi River and its tributaries race to secure their homes and businesses as much as possible from floodwaters.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal speaks at a news conference in Baton Rouge, La. about the potential for flooding from the swelling Mississippi River Monday, May 9, 2011. Behind him are state fire officials who recently responded to the tornado disasters in Mississippi and Alabama.

People gather to look at opened bays on the Bonnet Carre Spillway in Norco, La. The spillway, which the Army Corps of Engineers built about 30 miles upriver from New Orleans in response to the great flood of 1927, last opened during the spring 2008. The spillway diverts water from the Mississippi River to Lake Pontchartrain.

People gather downtown to watch the Mississippi River at Beale Street and Riverside Drive, Friday, May 6, 2011 in Memphis, Tenn.

Pam Young stands on her front porch holding her granddaughter, 18 month old Alex Boyd in her arms as she looks at all the water around her home on Saturday May 7, 2011 on the north end of Tiptonville, Tenn. Young left her home for two days because of flood waters from the Mississippi.

Ralph Mosley surveys the floodwaters around his home in Tiptonville, Tenn., Saturday, May 7, 2011. Mosley and his family were out of their home for a week because of floodwaters from the Mississippi River.

Melinda Valentine, from left, Tiffany Nails, 7, and Chad McCormack get off a bus at an emergency center after being evacuated from flooded Redwood Estates trailer park by county rescue workers in Memphis, Tenn., on Saturday, May 7, 2011. About two dozen people were rescued and transported by bus to Raleigh Springs Mall.

Joe Bledsoe paddles a boat through his neighborhood Saturday, May 7, 2011 in Bogota, Tenn.

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River traffic continues on the flooded Mississippi River at Memphis. The Mississippi River rose Monday to levels not seen in Memphis since the 1930s, swamping homes in low-lying neighborhoods but posing no threat to the city's world-famous musical landmarks, including Graceland and Beale Street.

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