5,000 have fled approaching flood, La. governor says

No shelters have had to open as residents move in with friends, family

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana — Some 5,000 people have evacuated and nearly 1,500 homes have had their power cut off as the controlled flooding meant to protect urban areas makes its way south toward the Gulf of Mexico, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said Tuesday.

In the first detailed assessment of the disruptions caused by opening the Morganza Spillway, flooding the Atchafalaya Basin, Jindal added that Mississippi River waters were just a few miles north of the town Krotz Springs and could reach Morgan City by Friday.

"Bottom line: The water's still heading our way," he told reporters, noting that many places will see high water for up to three weeks.

Some 14,000 homes and other structures could still be impacted, Jindal said.

No shelters have been opened, he noted, indicating that most people have moved in with relatives or friends.

A few families have moved into a farming community built for evacuees of Hurricane Katrina.

Twenty-six families have moved into the enclave because their towns were threatened by flooding from the Mississippi River and smaller rivers that spring from it.

The haven, informally known as Canadaville, was created by a Canadian industrialist and had a onetime population of around 200 residents displaced by the 2005 hurricane, but it had dwindled to just a handful by the time people from nearby towns began looking for a place to wait out the flood.

Tonya Nelson, 39, one of the few Katrina evacuees still there, said she recognized the look on their faces.

"I can understand what they're going through because I've been through it myself," she said.

The Mississippi River, swollen by snow melt and heavy spring rains, has caused widespread flooding as the crest of the water heads south.

'20 feet of water on us'
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said it was expected to peak at Greenville, Miss., at 64.3 feet by Tuesday afternoon.

"Everyone is excited about the crest, but they're also nervous. They look at the river and think, 'That could be 20 feet of water on us,'" Peter Nimrod, chief engineer of the Board of Mississippi Levee Commissioners, told The Associated Press Monday. "They'll be very happy when it crests and begins to go down."

Greenville was hit hard by the massive 1927 flood, but the levees now are bigger and stronger. Flooding in the area has so far been mostly limited to Greenville's lowest-lying areas.

The river is expected to rise nearly another foot in Vicksburg, Miss., before Thursday, when it should crest at 57.5 feet — 14.5 feet above flood level. On Monday, Vicksburg saw the level break the 56.2 feet record set in 1927.

The Yazoo Backwater Levee has a foot of earth remaining before waters begin lapping over it, said Marty Pope, senior hydrologist with the National Weather Service.

"You can see it right now ready to come over the top," said Ed McGuiness, a cattle farmer who lives near Vicksburg. "It is like a slow death."

To take pressure off levees surrounding heavily populated New Orleans and Baton Rouge, the Army Corps of Engineers opened the key Morganza Spillway Saturday, choosing to flood more rural areas with fewer homes.

However, officials said Monday that less floodwater than initially thought would end up swamping Cajun towns and farms . That’ll make the difference between wet or dry for some, but others — those who live in areas where up to 20 feet was expected — will still see flooded

Open gates at the spillway allow 30 percent of the Mississippi's water into the Atchafalaya River. So with the Mississippi at record levels, the Atchafalaya is high, too.

Some of the evacuees have flocked to Canadaville, a 900-acre development that was officially named Magnaville when it opened a few months after Katrina because it was created by the head of Canadian auto parts maker Magna International.

Hurricane-displaced families could live rent-free if they passed a background check and followed the rules.

Before the flooding, only four of the 49 houses were being used.

"I think we're going to fill up," said Shane Carmichael, a Magna official who oversees the project.