Flooding in Louisiana, March 5 to 31, 1997

The Mississippi River exceeded flood stage during the first half of the month from Red River Landing to just west of New Orleans. The river crested at most locations between the 20th and 27th. The crest at Red River Landing, 61.3 feet, on March 26 was a flood of record. However, the flow of 1.48 million cfs was considerably below the record flow of 1.779 million cfs established during the 1927 flood. The river crested at Baton Rouge at 43.7 ft on March 27 and Donaldsonville at 32.2 ft on March 27. The Bonnet Carre Spillway, just upstream from New Orleans, was opened on March 17 for the first time since 1983. The opening of the spillway diverted a considerable flow from the Mississippi River into Lake Pontchartrain, holding river stages below floodstage in New Orleans. While the river was above flood stage through much of south Louisiana, it remained within the flood control levees. At the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, an outer levee was overtopped, however, the main levee contained the flood crest. A low area in the levee structure in Baton Rouge was raised with sandbags. The high stages on the river, greatly impacted barge and ship traffic with restrictions in place through most of the month. The high stages and high flow also contributed to several barge and ship accidents. The Mississippi River remained above flood stage through the middle of April in many locations.