Windsor Genova - AHN News News Writer
Morganza, LA, United States (AHN) - Crews from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opened two more gates of the Morganza Spillway on Sunday to prevent Baton Rouge and New Orleans from being flooded by the rising Mississippi River.
The opening of the two gates bring to four the total number of gates opened to divert flooding to farmlands and rural areas in Louisiana as water flowing in the Mississippi River reached the dangerous level of 1.5 million cubic feet per second.
Some 40,000 cubic feet of water was coming out per second from the opened gates on Sunday and moving to the Atchafalaya Basin. The water will eventually flow into the Gulf of Mexico.
The first two bays of the spillway were opened for the first time since 1973 on Saturday afternoon and evening. A total 31 of 125 gates will be opened to ease pressure from the Mississippi River.
Up to 3,000 miles of land is expected to be flooded and 25,000 people affected with the opening of 31 Morganza Spillway gates.
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