MEMPHIS, Tenn., June 26, 2015 – The Memphis District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) ended its Phase II floodfight yesterday afternoon as a result of steadily falling river stages on the Upper Mississippi River. Areas in the northern portion of the Memphis District in the Charleston (Missouri) and Cairo (Illinois) Sectors remain in a Phase I floodfight. Officials in the Memphis District expect to complete Phase I floodfighting around Wednesday of next week.
The eight USACE employees previously deployed to the field to conduct 6 a.m. - 6:30 p.m. daily patrols are returning to their normal duty locations in Memphis and Caruthersville, Mo.
For the duration of Phase I floodfight activities, two USACE personnel will continue to monitor all federal flood control works including levees, flood walls and pumping stations in the area. USACE emergency management personnel will also monitor rainfall amounts in the affected areas, and work with the National Weather Service to check for any changes in the situation. Although some additional rainfall in the upper Mississippi and Ohio River basins is forecast for the next few days, at this time it is not expected to cause more high water problems within the Memphis District boundaries.
USACE engineers will now work to assess the effectiveness of new flood risk reduction measures such as relief wells and slurry trenches that were installed following the floods of 2011.
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Release no. 15-009