Mississippi River is Raging On

The Mississippi River is raging on and economists, farmers and industry officials said they expected hundreds of millions of dollars in damages including crop and infrastructure destruction in communities along the 740 miles of river that meanders from Memphis to New Orleans. Citizens will notice the trickled down  cost from this and it is already driving up prices all across the US.

In Yazoo County, Miss., John Phillips, a 61-year-old farmer, said thousands of acres of his cotton and corn crops had been destroyed. “In our area in the south delta, it is a widespread and very economically devastating disaster,” he said in a telephone interview, as he tried to run a pump. He said his annual revenue would be reduced by 40 percent because it was too late to replant.

In Louisiana, oyster beds have been flushed with fresh water from the river after spillways were opened. Already, the state’s crucial seafood industry had been reeling from the BP oil spill.

“Oysters are getting crucified,” said Harlon H. Pearce Jr., the executive director of Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board. “This water hit at the absolute worst time.”

Along the river, barge operators are weathering the economic turbulence. It costs an operator about $10,000 a day when there is a delay with a tow, which helps the unwieldy barges, sometimes up to 45 of them tied together, navigate.

“One barge has the capacity of 16 rail cars or 70 trucks,” said Anne D. Burns, a spokeswoman at American Waterways Operators. The river’s barge traffic, Ms. Burns added, “is one of the significant building blocks of our economy.”

With the recent flooding, barges are running lighter loads and traveling during the day because navigation markers are submerged. Delays can have ripple effects throughout the economy, like slower coal deliveries to utilities, where costs can be passed on to consumers, or disruptions to the nation’s grain exports that travel down the river, she added.

Fema is on site already trying to help those who need it most, but it has been overwhelming.

Fema has a summary of key federal disaster aid programs that can be made available as needed and warranted under President Obama’s major disaster declaration issued for Mississippi.

• Those in the county designated for assistance to affected individuals and business owners can begin the disaster application process by registering online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov, by web enabled mobile device at m.fema.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or 1-800-462-7585 (TTY) for the hearing and speech impaired. The toll-free telephone numbers are available from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. EDT.  Applicants registering for aid should be prepared to provide basic information about themselves (name, permanent address, phone number), insurance coverage and any other information to help substantiate losses.