Floods Mississippi

A fierce storm system pounded the Southeast with torrential rain and wind gusts of nearly 60 m.p.h. on Wednesday, ripping roofs from buildings and forcing people to flee their homes in Mississippi because of floodwaters six feet deep. "It was a nightmare. It is still a nightmare," said Lebron Simmons, 28, of Vicksburg, Miss., where more than six inches of rain fell in a seven-hour period, flooding homes and apartments in the Hamilton Heights subdivision.

The Mississippi River began cresting and hit nearly 48 feet early Tuesday, falling short of a record but wreaking havoc across Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi as tributaries and creeks swollen from the flooded waterway spilled over their banks into residential, business and farming areas. At 7 a.m. Central time Tuesday the water level reached 47.87 feet as the coffee-colored river cut through Memphis, swallowing much of the riverfront recreation area. The tourist riverboat Capt.

Torrential rains spawned by the remnants of Tropical Storm Allison flooded roads from Kentucky to Louisiana. More than five inches of rain fell at Bowling Green, Ky., flooding roads in at least four surrounding counties. Up to two inches of rain pelted the Atlanta area during the morning, swamping streets and low-lying areas in DeKalb County, Ga., the National Weather Service said.

Floyd Hutson is not a man cut out for American folklore. At 71, he is a florid, slow-moving gentleman whose self-effacing demeanor would never qualify him to join such legendary Mississippi River heroes and backwoods boasters as Mike Fink, Ralph Stackpole and Billy Earthquake. But Shorty Hutson, alone among his neighbors, took on the Mississippi and won.

High, fast water that shut down commercial traffic on more than 500 miles of the Mississippi River idled weekend boaters and swimmers as well. "The potential for disaster is real high," said Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Jeff Van Reese in St. Paul, Minn. "If you've got a life jacket, it's not going to matter. This current's going to pull you under a barge or something."

Storms dumped up to five inches of rain Saturday on waterlogged Texas, prompting the evacuation of 15 families, while a downpour in Mississippi flooded 130 homes and forced up to 30 families to flee to higher ground, officials said. Showers and thunderstorms were scattered over the Southern Plains, the Mississippi and Ohio valleys and the Atlantic Coast, with watches for severe thunderstorms posted from Virginia to southern New England.

Floodwaters gushed from a rain-swollen lake into the Trinity River in Texas at a record rate Thursday, but despite warnings to evacuate many residents downstream stayed home to guard against looters, authorities said. Floodwaters from Lake Livingston, about 75 miles northeast of Houston, are expected to inundate more than 200 square miles along the Trinity. At the dam, operators increased the flow through a dozen floodgates to a record 100,800 cubic feet per second by midday Thursday.

Flash floods fed by up to seven inches of rain forced closure of low-lying roads and chased hundreds of people from their homes Thursday. Some residents fled in boats. Creeks that empty into the rain-swollen Mississippi River overflowed their banks in heavy thunderstorms. "We've had flash flooding all day. It hit pretty suddenly," said Warren County Sheriff Paul Barrett. Barrett said more than 130 houses in the city were flooded and between 30 and 40 homes in county territory have been flooded.

Flooding caused by up to 10 inches of rain forced evacuations Monday in parts of Mississippi and Louisiana, with so many roads closed that Monroe, La., officials ran out of barricades and Ouachita Parish ran out of sandbags. "In north Louisiana . . . you can't get there unless you have a boat," State Police Capt. Ronnie Jones said, adding that at least 65 roads were closed in the region.

The Mississippi River began cresting and hit nearly 48 feet early Tuesday, falling short of a record but wreaking havoc across Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi as tributaries and creeks swollen from the flooded waterway spilled over their banks into residential, business and farming areas. At 7 a.m. Central time Tuesday the water level reached 47.87 feet as the coffee-colored river cut through Memphis, swallowing much of the riverfront recreation area. The tourist riverboat Capt.

The river was not to be denied. It crept in like an encroaching fog, securing the land in silence. The Mississippi's conquest of the tiny hamlet of Hull started out discreetly, hours after the river had first breached the sand wall of the massive Sny Island Levee. Probing fingers of river water ran along ditches and culverts, into the hidden corners of 45,000 acres of fertile farmland.

Raging floodwater tore through the bottom of the longest levee along the northern Mississippi River on Sunday, trapping five people, two of them in treetops filled with snakes. The river closed six miles of the Central Illinois Expressway and swamped 45,000 acres of prime farmland. "We have a breach! We have a breach!" a levee inspector shouted into his two-way radio as the Sny levee, the second-largest river berm in the nation, burst at 11:23 a.m., local time.

High, fast water that shut down commercial traffic on more than 500 miles of the Mississippi River idled weekend boaters and swimmers as well. "The potential for disaster is real high," said Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Jeff Van Reese in St. Paul, Minn. "If you've got a life jacket, it's not going to matter. This current's going to pull you under a barge or something."

Joey Long was practically born in a catfish pond, and for as far back as he can remember, the industry's hard times have been his own. "My granddaddy got my father started in this business," said Long, 24. "But my dad got bit by a cottonmouth, his tractor blew up on him, and the landing gear on his crop-duster fell off while he was flying. After all that, I guess he figured it was a good time to get out."

Flooding caused by up to 10 inches of rain forced evacuations Monday in parts of Mississippi and Louisiana, with so many roads closed that Monroe, La., officials ran out of barricades and Ouachita Parish ran out of sandbags. "In north Louisiana . . . you can't get there unless you have a boat," State Police Capt. Ronnie Jones said, adding that at least 65 roads were closed in the region.

Flash floods fed by up to seven inches of rain forced closure of low-lying roads and chased hundreds of people from their homes Thursday. Some residents fled in boats. Creeks that empty into the rain-swollen Mississippi River overflowed their banks in heavy thunderstorms. "We've had flash flooding all day. It hit pretty suddenly," said Warren County Sheriff Paul Barrett. Barrett said more than 130 houses in the city were flooded and between 30 and 40 homes in county territory have been flooded.

Joey Long was practically born in a catfish pond, and for as far back as he can remember, the industry's hard times have been his own. "My granddaddy got my father started in this business," said Long, 24. "But my dad got bit by a cottonmouth, his tractor blew up on him, and the landing gear on his crop-duster fell off while he was flying. After all that, I guess he figured it was a good time to get out."

Floyd Hutson is not a man cut out for American folklore. At 71, he is a florid, slow-moving gentleman whose self-effacing demeanor would never qualify him to join such legendary Mississippi River heroes and backwoods boasters as Mike Fink, Ralph Stackpole and Billy Earthquake. But Shorty Hutson, alone among his neighbors, took on the Mississippi and won.

Floodwaters gushed from a rain-swollen lake into the Trinity River in Texas at a record rate Thursday, but despite warnings to evacuate many residents downstream stayed home to guard against looters, authorities said. Floodwaters from Lake Livingston, about 75 miles northeast of Houston, are expected to inundate more than 200 square miles along the Trinity. At the dam, operators increased the flow through a dozen floodgates to a record 100,800 cubic feet per second by midday Thursday.

Torrential rains spawned by the remnants of Tropical Storm Allison flooded roads from Kentucky to Louisiana. More than five inches of rain fell at Bowling Green, Ky., flooding roads in at least four surrounding counties. Up to two inches of rain pelted the Atlanta area during the morning, swamping streets and low-lying areas in DeKalb County, Ga., the National Weather Service said.