if there were cars in it right now, water would be up to the windows and possibly over the tops of some. what we re looking at right now in memphis is vary large city trying to hold back a very big flood. city parks already flooding and water creeping closer to houses by the day. people in memphis watched the rising mississippi river and wonder. how high will the water get, you know? who is most at risk? which land sits lower? the mississippi river floods of 2011 are expected to break records to the north of memory this weekend. and then continue setting high water marks as far south at baton rouge. the river is expected to crest in memphis at 48 feet above flood stage. the highest its been in generations. memphis hasn t seen that much water since the disastrous floods of 1937. back then, city officials tell me the river rose all the way to here, where i m standing, which
than normal. and in memphis, tennessee, they are filling sandbags to try to hold back the rising level and the water level is expected to reach 48 feet next week, and folks, that is 13 feet above flood stage. and david mattingly is in memphis where the people are obviously closely watching the river rise. reporter: city parks already flooded and water creeping closer to the houses by the day. the people in memphis, watching the rising mississippi and wonder. how high will the water get? you know. who is most at risk? which land sits lower? reporter: the mississippi river floods of 2011 are expected to break records to the north of memphis this weekend, and then continue setting high water marks as far south as baton rouge. the river is expected to crest in memphis at 48 feet, the highest it has been in generations. memphis has not seen that
droves. i m always stunned to see high water marks still and roofs missing. that must drive you cry. it does. it s a very, very long process to rebuild a very intricate network and fabric of our lives. building houses to replace the blight is a mantra in new orleans. one of the people leading the charge is brad pitt. this place where we re standing right now, there were over 1500 deaths. it was unnecessary. shouldn t have happened. i got angry. i got really angry. now, on the flipside, i have a lot of friends who are who were involved in architecture, know a lot about it. brad pitt s make it right foundation is building 150 solar powered homes for low-inco residents in the hard-hit section of new orleans, the lower ninth ward. these homes are elevated above katrina flood waters. they are stronger. they will take a category 4. they all have egress to get out
droves. i m always stunned to see high water marks still and roofs missing. that must drive you crazy. it does. it s a very, very long process to rebuild a very intricate network and fabric of our lives. building houses to replace the blight is a mantra in new orleans. one of the people leading the charge is brad pitt. this place where we re standing right now, there were over 15 deaths. it was unnecessary. shouldn t have happened. i got angry. i got really angry. now, on the flipside, i have a lot of friends who are who were involved in architecture, know a lot about it. brad pitt s make it right foundation is building 150 solar pored homes for low income residents in the hard-hit section of new orleans, the lower ninth ward. these homes are elevated above katrina floodwaters. they are stronge r. they will take a category 4. they all have egress to get out
now five years later, albert has reunited with his wife and returned to texas permanently. he s among the 20% of former new orleans residents who after katrina no longer call that city home. but he makes frequent trips back to the city he loves and that s where i had the pleasure of catching up with my friend once again. this katrina thing is still going on. albert is a professional substance abuse counselor, but the clinic he helped start in new orleans doesn t pay him a salary, and he s currently unemployed. when people ask you how you re doing today, how do you answer that question? partly cloudy, like the weather. sometimes i feel good about what s going on and sometimes i don t. for those who have returned to live in the city, the struggle to rebuild their lives has been monumental. houses have been abandoned in droves. i m always stunned to see high water marks still and roofs