Mississippi River Floods Memphis

With April's excessive rains in the lower and mid-Mississippi River Valley and snow melting from heavy winter storms further upstream, the mighty Mississippi has swelled to record highs, breaking through a temporary levee in Memphis on Thursday and completely submerging the city's downtown airport. On Tuesday, the river's rising heights caused officials to take emergency action in Cairo, Illinois, where residents had been evacuated due to floods. The Mississippi is expected to top out at 48 feet next Wednesday, the highest level recorded since 1937. Officials in surrounding counties have predicted the flood will affect some 2,832 properties and have told residents to evacuate roughly 1,000 homes under threat.