Floods in the U.S. Midwest

Floods

Flooding on the Lower Mississippi

Louisiana prepared for the arrival of flood water that stemmed from heavy rains that fell far upriver in Missouri and Illinois.

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Mississippi River Well Below Normal

Coming off of the extreme floods of 2011, the river was approaching historic lows in the summer of 2012 near Memphis and along much of its lower reaches.

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Winter Flooding in Mississippi and Louisiana

Persistent heavy rains in the first two months of 2020 have swelled rivers from Missouri to the Gulf of Mexico.

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Taming the Mississippi River

Engineers use levees, floodways, dams, and much more to control the ever restless Mississippi.

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Lingering Floods along the Mississippi River

Acquired May 20, 2011, and April 14, 2011, these false-color images show water levels along the Mississippi River.

Land Floods

Morganza Floodway

These false-color images compare conditions along the Mississippi River and Atchafalaya Basin in June 2011, during heavy flooding, and three years earlier.

Land Floods

Low Water on the Mississippi Causes Barge Backup

The drought of 2012 reduced traffic to one towboat at a time; groundings closed parts of the river for hours to days.

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Winter Flooding on the Mississippi

Persistent rains and saturated soils across the watershed swelled the river to its banks and occasionally onto floodplains.

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Morganza Floodway, 1973

Observations by Landsat 1 from 1973 show the Morganza Floodway after its first and only opening in 57 years.

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Flooding in Memphis

Acquired May 10, 2011, and April 21, 2010, these natural-color images show flooded and normal conditions along the Mississippi River in Memphis, Tennessee.

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Lingering Floodwaters near Vicksburg, Mississippi

These false-color images compare conditions along the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers around Vicksburg in June 2011, during heavy flooding, and three years earlier.

Land Floods