MEMPHIS, Tenn., May 12, 2017 – The Memphis District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) lowered its floodfight activation level to Phase I in the Cairo, Missouri, and Reelfoot-Obion Areas due to falling Mississippi River levels.
At the Phase I floodfight activation level, a reduced number of Corps of Engineers personnel will remain deployed in the field and monitor all federal flood control works including levees, flood walls and pumping stations.
In Phase I, the Corps of Engineers will continue to monitor river levels and will respond as necessary should river levels again rise above Corps activation stages
We remain in Phase II and continue to conduct daily patrols in the White River and Lower St. Francis Areas. 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 Corps’ Division Headquarters in Vicksburg, Miss, coordinates all floodfight activities in the Mississippi Valley. The Corps’ Emergency Operations Center in Memphis is directing these floodfight activities 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 control 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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Release no. 17-011