Flooding Mississippi River Closes The Lighthouse Point Casino

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Uploaded by iambuddyhuggins on May 9, 2011

Mississippi Businesses Close Due to Rising Water; SEE Link Below:
http://buddyhuggins.blogspot.com/search/label/2011%20Flooding%20Greenville%20...

May 5: The rising waters of Lake Ferguson flood the Greenville Yacht Club and are forcing the evacuation of its neighbor the Lighthouse Point Casino, in Greenville, Miss.

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- (PRESS RELEASE) -- Tropicana Entertainment Inc. announced today that it will be temporarily closing its Lighthouse Point and Jubilee Casinos, both in Greenville, Mississippi, due to the rising water levels of the Mississippi River. The Lighthouse Point Casino will close Thursday, May 5th, 2011, at Midnight and the Jubilee Casino will close Friday, May 6th, 2011, at Midnight. The re-opening date of the casinos will be determined at a future time based on the conditions of the river.

Interim Chief Executive Officer Daniel Ninivaggi said, "The safety of our employees and guests are of the utmost importance to us so we are taking proactive steps to ensure their safety. Throughout these very critical times, we will be actively monitoring the situation and working with local and state government as well as the Mississippi Gaming Commission throughout this time."

The Mississippi and its swollen tributaries reached peak levels in April of 1927 and overflowed their banks.

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Maps: Comparing Floods

Residents along the Mississippi River are no strangers to overflows and flooding during the spring thaw and rains. Since the early 18th century, settlers have built levees and floodwalls along the 2,000 mile long waterway to try and control it. However, in years with record-breaking rainfall, like 1927 and 1993, trying to tame the river becomes impossible. Mark Twain wrote that if the Mississippi were a "little European river... it would just be a holiday job... to wall it, and pile it, and dike it, and tame it down, and boss it around... But this ain't that kind of a river."
Flood of 1927

The Mississippi and its swollen tributaries reached peak levels in April of 1927 and overflowed their banks. One by one, levees built to contain the river broke, and a wall of water pushed its way across Midwestern farmlands. The flood covered 27,000 square miles, an area about the size of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Vermont combined. For two long months the water would remain above flood stage, leaving hundreds of thousands of people displaced from their homes.

Flood of 1993

The flood of 1993 was one of the most devastating floods in United States history. More than double the normal amount of rainfall fell in the Midwest during the first half of the year, flooding over 16,000 square miles in nine states. Major flooding was confined to the Upper Mississippi due to the less than average level of inflow from Lower Mississippi tributaries.

Statistical Comparison

	1927 FLOOD	1993 FLOOD
Human Loss of Life	246	47
Displaced People	700,000	74,000
Financial Loss	$347,000,000 in 1927 = $4.4 billion in 1993 dollars	$7,500,536,000
Structural Damage	137,000 buildings destroyed or damaged	47,650 buildings destroyed or damaged
Flooded Area	27,000 square miles	15,600 square miles
River Volume	2,500,000 cubic feet of water per second	1,000,000 cubic feet of water per second (USGS)
Data from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers except where noted.