h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The next two weeks are going to be very long and quite stressful because of the flooding of the Mississippi River. It is expected to crest here, May 23. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13314643

This is the website of a local newspaper and a local television station. It currently states that the levees at Baton Rouge should be safe on the East Baton Rouge side. http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/latest/Officials-EBR-levee-breaches-not-expected.html

two weeks of grief http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/brunel/F19585?thread=8193521 and then the world ends

Well then, if the world ends on the 21st, I don't have to worry about sandbagging for the 23rd.

I don't live near the levees or in Baton Rouge. I work in Baton Rouge, near enough to the River where that could be a problem and I have family on the other side of the bridge that crosses the Mississippi River.

I don't like that bridge. http://travelphotobase.com/s/LABDR.HTM

I like this one even less. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huey_P._Long_Bridge_(Baton_Rouge) This one doesn't exactly meet up evenly in the middle. It was started on each side of the river and when they met in the middle it was off by a few inches... yeah.

take some holiday time around the time high water is due,

invite you 'at risk' family to stay with you for a few days

the best way to survive a forseable disaster is to avoid it

I'll ask them if they need some place to go. They should at least stock up on things because at the very least they will get stuck on that side of the river for a bit.

Why is it no one considers the long range planning?

I mean they buy stuff for the day of the storm or whatever, but not the next two or three weeks until things return to a more normal state. One hurricane, Gustav,that lasted about six hours here and caused record damage in the area where I work, meant that our store missed three trucks of grocery deliveries. And, the day after, people were beating on the door even though the electricity was out and the store was closed. They hadn't prepared.

I had people laughing at me the week before because I bought a dozen cans of pet food and a large bag of kibble because it's the only brand they eat and it won't spoil. If not bottled water, at least contain tap or filtered water, and fill a bathtub. Bonus points if you know why the bathtub.

because its big???

Yes. The bathtub can hold several buckets of water. If you do lose water or water pressure, the toilet can still be flushed by filling the tank with a bucket.

and if it all comes to nought, you can still have a bath

I was both afraid you might be affected by that, and hoping you weren't. We;ve seen some news coverage...really(sincerely)wish y'all the best!

A bath, water the plants...

We won't know for a couple of weeks how bad it will be, here. They are sandbagging in Baton Rouge. The current flood forecast map: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/lmrfc/?n=fop

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/121535339.html

The Bonnet Carre spillway has been opened to divert water. The Morganza spillway has not been opened. If it isn't opened, L.S.U. and parts of South Baton Rouge may flood.

The water levels hit 48 feet in Memphis. They seem to have been able to manage all right at that level.

We're trying to avoid water to the rooftops in as much of Baton Rouge as possible. 49ft is the limit at the levee nearest where I work. That doesn't mean the levee can't be undermined at a much lower height.

Governor Jindal is actively preparing and keeping ahead of the flooding. http://www.wafb.com/story/14619470/jindal-13000-structures-at-risk-for-flooding

This is the USS Kidd in dry dock. You should see several more steps, dry land and the bottom of the Kidd. http://9reports.wafb.com/MediaItemView.aspx?id=1281044

49 ft doesn't seem that far away in this picture. http://9reports.wafb.com/MediaItemView.aspx?id=1280798

They're comparing this flood with the flood of 1927, when the Mississippi was 70 miles wide in Louisiana.

That comparison has been mentioned a few times.
This is a silent film of the flood of 1927: http://www.archive.org/details/mississippi_flood_1927

Aren't there a lot of bayous that they can open up, so as to divert some of the water?

The spillways are used to divert the water.

Bonnet Carre is open, to protect New Orleans. The Morganza spillway hasn't reached the required volume of water (it's close). The Morganza spillway will divert water from Baton Rouge. Unfortunately, it will flood a less populated, mostly agricultural area instead of just draining the water away. Morganza spillway: http://www.nola.com/weather/index.ssf/2011/05/mississippi_river_floodway_ope.html

The latest update...

'BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) -Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal says the Corps of Engineers gave approval Friday afternoon to open the Morganza Spillway within 24 hours. Jindal says he expects the spillway will open Saturday.' http://www.wafb.com/story/14643694/morganza-spillway-to-open-saturday

It will flood thousands of miles of mostly agricultural land in the Atchafalaya Basin instead of Baton Rouge and New Orleans.