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| Sarah Fenske |
| Flooded farmland near New Madrid, Missouri, taken last weekend after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers detonated the Birds Point Levee. |
We've got more astonishing photos of Mississippi River flooding to share this morning, thanks to the nice people over at Google.
This latest set shows just how wide the river has spread in the area of Caruthersville, Missouri -- the county seat of Pemiscot County in the Missouri Bootheel near the Arkansas border. Pemiscot, for the record, comes from an Indian word meaning "liquid mud," but these days, thanks to heavy rains and the detonated Birds Point levee just upriver, Caruthersville residents are probably wishing for a lot less liquidity.
The river there has risen above 46 feet, breaking the previous record set in 1937. And it's not expected to crest until Sunday. At that point, KAIT reports, the National Weather Service predicts it will be just a few inches below the floodwall.
To get a sense of just how much water we're talking, check out this image from the area, taken in spring 2009.
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| courtesy of Google and GeoEye |
| This photo shows what the Mississippi looked like downriver from the Birds Point levee back in 2009. |
Contrast that with this photo of the same area, taken within the last 48 hours.
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| courtesy of Google and GeoEye |
| This photo, taken within the last two days, shows the river overwhelming its banks. |
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