VICKSBURG, Miss. (AP) -- The Mississippi River crested at more than 14 feet above flood stage in Vicksburg on Thursday, a slightly lower than expected level that eased worries about water potentially spilling over a nearby levee and inundating thousands more acres of farmland. But officials warned that the flood was by no means over. The river was expected to stay at its crest for several days before beginning a long, slow retreat. It could remain above flood stage until mid-June.
Authorities had been worried for days that water might spill over the Yazoo Backwater Levee north of Vicksburg. But because the water was not expected to rise any higher, they did not expect to evacuate any more people. Some 2,000 city residents have already been forced from their homes. (42 images)
Authorities had been worried for days that water might spill over the Yazoo Backwater Levee north of Vicksburg. But because the water was not expected to rise any higher, they did not expect to evacuate any more people. Some 2,000 city residents have already been forced from their homes. (42 images)
Follow The Frame on Twitter at sacbee_theframe
Cars are stranded on a dry strip of roadway north Vicksburg, Miss., Thursday, May 19, 2011. The floodwaters from the Mississippi River have displaced thousands of homeowners along waterways in Mississippi and Louisiana. For thousands of people forced from their homes by the rising Mississippi River, life has become a tedious waiting game: waiting for meals at shelters, waiting for the latest word on their flooded homes, waiting for the river to fall. Dave Martin / AP
Police officers stand post at the edge of rising floodwaters from the Mississippi River, that flooded a dozen homes and business, in St. Francisville, La., Thursday, May 19, 2011. Gerald Herbert / AP
Renee Tassin plays with her granddaughter Skyla Marie Keesler, 14 months, on the edge of floodwaters from the Mississippi River that flooded a dozen homes and businesses, some seen in background, in St. Francisville, La., Thursday, May 19, 2011. Gerald Herbert / AP
Vicksburg restaurant owner David Day walks outside his flooded eatery in Vicksburg, Miss., Thursday, May 19, 2011, pausing to remark about the Vicksburg Post banner on their paper box saying "Your World Has Changed This Morning". Dave Martin / AP
Floodwaters from the Yazoo River creep across fields of crops near Yazoo City, Miss., Thursday, May 19, 2011. Dave Martin / AP
Floodwaters from the Yazoo River surround this farm house after it's levee failed near Yazoo City, Miss., Thursday, May 19, 2011. Dave Martin / AP
Floodwaters from the Yazoo River surround farm homes near Yazoo City, Miss., Thursday, May 19, 2011. Dave Martin / AP
Floodwaters surround the Kings community of Vicksburg, Miss., Thursday, May 19, 2011. Dave Martin / AP
Flooded farmland is pictured near Yazoo City, Miss., Thursday, May 19, 2011. Dave Martin / AP
Floodwaters surround the Kings community of Vicksburg, Miss., Thursday, May 19, 2011. Dave Martin / AP
Flooded farmland is pictured near Yazoo City, Miss., Thursday, May 19, 2011. Dave Martin / AP
Flooded farmland is pictured near Yazoo City, Miss., Thursday, May 19, 2011. Dave Martin / AP
Floodwaters from the Yazoo river creep across fields of crops near Yazoo City, Miss., Thursday, May 19, 2011. Dave Martin / AP
A farmhouse is protected by a small levee while another stands flooded near Yazoo City, Miss., Thursday, May 19, 2011. Dave Martin / AP
Homes are surrounded by floodwaters from the Mississippi river in Vicksburg, Miss., Thursday, May 19, 2011. Dave Martin / AP
Homes are surrounded by floodwaters from the Mississippi river in Vicksburg, Miss., Thursday, May 19, 2011. Dave Martin / AP
A farmer launches a boat from a flooded road in between two fields of corn in Yazoo City, Miss., Thursday, May 19, 2011. Dave Martin / AP
Homes are threatened by encroaching floodwaters from the Bayou Pierre River Thursday, May 19, 2011 in Port Gibson, Miss. Rogelio V. Solis / AP
A colorful sky is reflected in the flooding Mississippi river as it surrounds the Golding Barge Line offices just after sunset in Vicksburg, Miss., Wednesday, May 18, 2011. Dave Martin / AP
Deputy Mike Traxler views flooded homes in Vicksburg, Miss., Wednesday, May 18, 2011. Dave Martin / AP
Fireman Donald Carter maneuvers past flooded homes in Vicksburg, Miss., Wednesday, May 18, 2011. Dave Martin / AP
Flood water from the Mississippi River that breached a wall of Hesco baskets is pumped out of the grounds of the Vidalia Convention Center in Vidalia, La., Wednesday, May 18, 2011. Some of the worst flooding is in the area from Vicksburg northeast to Yazoo City, along the Yazoo River. Gerald Herbert / AP
Ed Jordan walks towards his family's general store in Carter, Miss., Wednesday, May 18, 2011. The store, which survived the historic 1927 Mississippi Delta flood, has about a foot of water in parts of the store, which is already forcing the wooden floor planks to buckle. Rogelio V. Solis / AP
A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers worker looks over sand bags along the rising Mississippi River shore in Natchez, Miss.., Wednesday, May 18, 2011. Gerald Herbert / AP
Buildings are seen flooded from rising river levels in the Atchafalaya Basin near Morganza, La. on Wednesday, May 18, 2011. Rich Matthews / AP
A submerged mailbox is seen in front of a flooded home in Vicksburg, Miss., Wednesday, May 18, 2011. Dave Martin / AP
Judith Stampley, 71, talks about her flooded home as she stands in her front yard in Vicksburg, Miss., Wednesday, May 18, 2011. Dave Martin / AP
Trustees and staff of the Concordia Parish Work Release Center motor through floodwaters from the Mississippi River to help place sandbags in the effort to protect businesses from the flooding in Vidalia, La., Wednesday, May 18, 2011. Gerald Herbert / AP
Lauren Lucas, left, is comforted by her husband, David Lucas, as they stand on a broken pier and watch her mother's business, the Vidalia Dock and Storage, take on floodwaters from the Mississippi River in Vidalia, La., Tuesday, May 17, 2011. Gerald Herbert / AP
Farmers work as floodwaters from the Mississippi river creep across their fields in Natchez, Miss., Tuesday, May 17, 2011. Dave Martin / AP
Floodwaters from the Mississippi River creep inland across the shore in Natchez, Miss. on May 17, 2011. Dave Martin / AP
Water from the Mississippi River roars through the Old River Control Structure towards the Atchafalaya Basin in Concordia Parish, La., Tuesday, May 17, 2011. The structure's gates were opened to help relieve rising floodwaters from the Mississippi. Gerald Herbert / AP
A business outside the levee south of Vicksburg, Miss., is surrounded by Mississippi river floodwaters Tuesday, May 17, 2011. Dave Martin / AP
The runway at the airport in Vicksburg, Miss., is surrounded by Mississippi river floodwaters Tuesday, May 17, 2011.
Dave Martin / AP
A home surrounded by Mississippi river floodwaters in Vicksburg, Miss., is pictured Tuesday, May 17, 2011. Dave Martin / AP
Floodwaters surround businesses along the Mississippi river in Vicksburg, Miss., Tuesday, May 17, 2011. Dave Martin / AP
The roofs of farm houses can be seen above the floodwaters of the Mississippi River in Natchez, Miss., Tuesday, May 17, 2011. Dave Martin / AP
Floodwaters from the Mississippi River have closed Highway 61 north of Vicksburg, Miss., Tuesday, May 17, 2011. Dave Martin / AP
Workers reinforce Hesco baskets in preparation for expected flooding from the opening of the Morganza Spillway, in Krotz Springs, La., Tuesday, May 17, 2011. Gerald Herbert / AP
A truck is barely visible in a flooded field near Natchez, Miss., Tuesday, May 17, 2011. Dave Martin / AP
Flooded crops in Vicksburg, Miss., are pictured Tuesday, May 17, 2011. Dave Martin / AP
Debra Emery holds her grandson Cayden Peebles as she watches floodwater rise around her mobile home in Vicksburg, Miss., Monday, May 16, 2011. A sand berm they built around their trailer failed in the night and floodwaters from the rising Mississippi river rushed in. "We tried so hard to stop it. It goes from anger to utter disbelief that this could happen. I just want to go home." Emery said. Dave Martin / AP
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.