US army opens Mississippi spillway

A steel, 10-ton floodgate has been slowly raised for the first time in nearly four decades, unleashing a torrent of water from the Mississippi River, away from heavily populated areas downstream.

Morganza is the second spillway to be opened in Louisiana. Opening the Morganza spillway diverts water away from Baton Rouge and New Orleans, and the numerous oil refineries and chemical plants along the lower reaches of the Mississippi.

Melting snow and heavy rain are blamed for inflating the Mississippi, and the rising river levels have shattered records all set 70 years ago. About 25,000 people and 11,000 structures could be affected.

US Army engineers plan to open one or two more of the 125 gates on Sunday in a painstaking process that gives residents and animals a chance to get out of the way.

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