Corps of Engineers begins Phase II floodfight efforts in Reelfoot-Obion Area

MEMPHIS, Tenn., May 8, 2017 – The Memphis District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) began Phase II floodfight activities at 7 a.m. on May 8 along the Mississippi River in the Reelfoot-Obion Area due to high river stages. The area of possible flooding is located in Wickliffe and Hickman, Ky., and Tiptonville and Dyersburg, Tenn. 

Approximately eight USACE field personnel were dispatched to this area for the floodfight response. They join 35 employees already mobilized to flood areas north of Memphis. The field personnel are conducting patrols each day from 7 a.m. until 7:30 p.m., checking the condition of levees and other flood protection structures and looking for problems like water seepage under levees. They are supported by additional employees working at the USACE Emergency Operations Center at the District Headquarters office in Memphis.

During a Phase II activation, USACE personnel intensively monitor government flood risk reduction works. They also make technical and materiel assistance available to local communities and flood control organizations to aid them in their floodfighting efforts.

Citizens are strongly encouraged to stay in touch with their local authorities and emergency management officials for updates on conditions in their areas. USACE will deploy additional personnel and resources as required to ensure the safety of life and property.

The USACE Division headquarters in Vicksburg, Miss, coordinates all floodfight activities in the Mississippi Valley. The USACE Emergency Operations Center in Memphis directs all floodfight activities in its area of responsibility in conjunction with the affected states, levee districts and other local interest groups.

The Federal flood protection works in the Mississippi Valley protect many thousands of homes, millions of lives and vast tracts of fertile cropland. The Memphis District’s flood risk reduction system has prevented more than $4.3 billion in flood damages and protected more than five million acres of cropland in the last decade alone.

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