REPORT: 7 Mississippi River Locks Closed Due To Flooding
April 19, 2013 Seven Mississippi River locks between Muscatine, IA, and Saverton, MO, were expected to close beginning on Friday as the rain-swollen waterway rises above flood stage, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said on Thursday.
The closures of Locks 16 through 22 will effectively shut the river to commercial navigation from central Iowa to northern Missouri, reports Reuters.
The river was forecast to crest on Sunday at Lock 16 in Muscatine at a river gauge reading of 21.3 feet, more than 5 feet above flood stage and 4.3 feet below the record crest, according to the latest National Weather Service river forecast.
At Lock and Dam 22 in Saverton, the river was forecast to crest at 26.3 feet on Tuesday, more than 10 feet above flood stage and 3.3 feet short of its record crest at that location.
Some 60% of U.S. grain exports are shipped via the Mississippi River and its tributaries from farms in the Midwest to export terminals at the Gulf of Mexico.
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