Louisiana gates open to save cities

Flood Water of Mississippi river has been released by the US Army Corps of Engineers at the Morganza Spillway on Saturday in Morganza, Louisiana.Photo: AFP

US army engineers have opened yesterday floodgates in Louisiana that will inundate up to 3,000 sq miles of land in an attempt to protect large cities along the Mississippi River.
It is hoped the move on Saturday will ease pressure on Baton Rouge and New Orleans.
This is the first time in four decades the level of the Mississippi has forced the floodgates to be opened.
About 25,000 people and 11,000 buildings could be adversely affected.
Fed by rainwater and the spring thaw, the Mississippi and its tributaries have caused massive flooding upstream, and officials have said the flooding in Louisiana is the worst since 1927.