All along the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, people are packing up as the flood waters continue to rise, endangering their fields, their homes and their lives. The decision by the Army Corps of Engineers to blast the Birds Point levee in Missouri inundated farmland, but slowed the flooding: water levels in Ohio and further south in Mississippi have dropped considerably. But at the base of the Mississippi Delta, in Vicksburg, Mississippi, people are preparing for the worst – as the water levels are scheduled to crest at 57.5 feet by May 20th. Joining us is George Sills, a geotechnical engineer and consultant and a retired member of the Army Corps of Engineers, who says that the levees along the Mississippi haven’t been properly maintained and that there are many sand boils similar to the one discovered in Cairo, Illinois. George Sills lives – a geotechnical engineer and consultant and a retired member of the Army Corps of Engineers and he joins us now.
The World is an independent newsroom. We’re not funded by billionaires; instead, we rely on readers and listeners like you. As a listener, you’re a crucial part of our team and our global community. Your support is vital to running our nonprofit newsroom, and we can’t do this work without you. Will you support The World with a gift today? Donations made between now and Dec. 31 will be matched 1:1. Thanks for investing in our work!