Study of 2011 Illinois flood will lead to better preparedness
Wednesday, February 19, 2014 - 04:33
in Earth & Climate
In May 2011, when the US Army Corps of Engineers used explosives to breach a levee south of Cairo, Ill., diverting the rising waters of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers to prevent flooding in the town, about 130,000 acres of Missouri farmland were inundated. Researchers took advantage of this "once-in-a-scientific-lifetime" occurrence to study the damage. Their study showed that landscape vulnerabilities can be mapped ahead of time to help communities prepare for extreme flooding.