MEMPHIS, Tenn., Jan. 5, 2016 – The Memphis District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) began Phase II floodfighting this morning due to high river stages on the Mississippi River. The area of current or possible flooding is located in the Memphis, Tenn., and West Memphis, Ark., Areas on the Lower Mississippi River.
Approximately 18 USACE employees working in the Memphis and West Memphis area joined 68 employees that are already deployed to flooded areas north of here. The field personnel are conducting patrols each day from 6 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. checking the condition of levees, looking for problems like water seepage under levees. They are being supported by 24 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.
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. -30-
Release no. 16-002