people continuing to watch it as it moves up from the river, again, typically hundreds of yards that way, across the railroad tracks, across a park, and now up along this downtown street where we re standing right now. this is normally just a section of downtown. you can see the traffic lights behind me. this is now all completely submerged. there are wider issues coming from this as well. kind of speaking to the historic nature of these floods, the sda announcing all barge traffic has been halted in the northern section of the mississippi river because of these rising flood waters, basically just another factor as this slow motion disaster, as our team is calling it, continues to play out. i know you ve been there for days, maggie. i can t believe that flood water is all across the street with the river so far away. and that boy, i can t get over, i died last night and now i m alive. hit by lightning. starting tonight, yosemite national park will close over
the mississippi river continuing to rise in many towns, halting barge traffic in a part of a majoror shipping artery. maggie vespa is watching it now from iowa. reporter: with floodwaters rising and the danger zone deepening, warnings about the slow-motion disaster taking shape along the mississippi river s banks sparking new, longer term fears. dwoyrks have several cars in the water. reporter: tonight a freight train derailing along the mississippi in desoto, wisconsin. at least two cars falling into the water. the cause under investigation. meanwhile, the usda halting barge traffic across much of the river. more than 20 flood gauges showing major flooding from minneapolis to burlington, iowa. some cities slated to remain at major flood stage for at least another week. this is this is 21. reporter: wow. this is 21.6, i believe. reporter: todd dawes is scrambling to protect his davenport
record low water levels are making it all but impossible for barge traffic to move foreign-bound produce out to sea. cbs s ben tracy has that story. this used to be an island in the middle of the mississippi river, reachable only by boat. now you can walk to what s known as tower rock. months of below normal rainfall have sent the river to record low levels, creating chaos for barge traffic. we haven t seen these levels for about three decades. paul roadie represents the towing and shipping industry. barges are being slowed and stranded at the worst possible time. just as farmers are sending their harvest down river. 60% of our ag exports travel right here down the mississippi river. if we don t have barges available, that s a real problem not just for america s farmers but for the world, frankly. it s also a critical supply chain from everything from coal
worsening drought in the midwest water levels along the mississippi river are now at record lows. that could be catastrophic for businesses and consumers. in tonight s eye on america, cbs ben tracy shows us what s being done to keep commerce moving. reporter: the mighty mississippi might need a new nickname. north of memphis, it looks more like a desert than a river. barge traffic up and down this crucial corridor is slowed or stranded. economic costs are estimated to be in the billions. how bad are things on the river right now? it s stark. we are seeing operational challenges that are almost unprecedented. reporter: paul rhody represents the river shipping and towing industry. he says the mississippi is plunging to record-low levels, just as farmers send their harvests down-river for export. 1/12th of the world s population eats something that emanates from the mississippi river basin. 40% of the global food supply starts at the mississippi river basin.
the upper end of that scale would make vast swaths around the middle of this world uninhabitable and you re seeing the effects here at 1.1. i m covering the mississippi river which is at record lows which is jammed up barge traffic, and it ll make up economic stories for the years to come. at the bottom of the world we re hearing they re going to officially list the emperor we think win as endangered species because the sea ice there is melting so rapidly there s nowhere to lay eggs, raise chicks and krill is being affected by warming waters down there. the warning signs are really everywhere, no matter where you look, and by these indepenicati it ll only get worse from here. you make a point we re not on the precipice of this crisis, it s now. bill weir for us in baton rouge. thank you so much. well, a top senate democrat is warning the federal reserve to not attack inflation too