MEMPHIS, Tenn., May 9, 2017 – The Memphis District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) continues its Phase II floodfight activities in the Cairo area, the Reelfoot-Obion area, the Missouri area, and the White River area. Employees are mobilized, 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.
In addition to these floodfight activities, the Memphis District has provided materiel assistance to local communities and flood control organizations to aid them in their floodfighting efforts. The items provided were sandbags that are used to build retainer walls or to help combat sand boils, portable pumps to remove water from flooded areas, and plastic poly sheeting to cover levees and help minimize levee slides and erosion.The following is a detailed list of material provided:
• 100,000 sandbags to the Missouri National Guard.
• 30,000 sandbags and four 12-inch portable water pumps to Clarendon, Ark.
• 5,000 sandbags to Woodruff County, Ark.
• 1,000 sandbags to the Dyer County Emergency Management Agency.
• 1,000 sandbags to the City of Caruthersville, Mo.
• 40 plastic 100 ft. poly sheet rolls to the Little Rock Drainage District, Ark.
• Two 12-inch water pumps and one plastic 100 ft. poly sheet roll to Alexander County, Ill.
• Three eight inch portable water pumps to Cairo, Ill.
• One 16-inch portable water pump, one 12-inch water pump, and five plastic 100 ft. poly sheet rolls to Tennessee Emergency Management Agency.
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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