Army engineers today dramatically opened the floodgates at a huge spillway on the bank of the Mississippi River in a last-ditch attempt to prevent the devastation of record-breaking floods.Workers pulled restraining devices off 28 gates at the Bonnet Carre spillway, upriver from New Orleans, sending waves of flood water rushing away from the city.
It came as the mighty Mississippi River swelled to its crest, threatening thousands of homes, as residents braced themselves for the worst floods the region has seen since 1927.
Army engineers said they would continue to monitor the situation before deciding whether or not to release the rest of the spillway's 350 gates.
The flood control system, which was built in 1929, two years after the historic 1927 flood, is designed to slow the flow of the water and divert it away from low-lying New Orleans.
But as troops desperately worked to control the rising river, officials warned residents that the measure would only delay, not cease, the inevitable.
Locals could expect water from five to 25 feet deep over parts of seven parishes and some of Louisiana's most valuable farmland is expected to be inundated, they said. Read More
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