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After a 2008 avulsion on the Kosi River, floodwaters overran the Indian state of Bihar, displacing millions of people. Prashanth Vishwanathan/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Why do rivers leap from their banks? Scientists strive to predict deadly flooding events
May. 13, 2021 , 2:00 PM
Rumors that the Kosi River was about to burst were spreading fast in Kusaha, a Nepalese village on the border with India. The river s levees, towering over the village, were being eroded quickly by the cresting waters. At 2 p.m. on 18 August 2008, the east bank ruptured. People ran for their lives as the breach grew. Soon, the entire river, one of the largest tributaries of the Ganges River, had overrun Kusaha and was spilling into India, drowning farm after farm in search of a faster path to the sea.
Some of the water in the lower Mississippi actually reaches the Gulf through the Atchafalaya River. Written By: John Wheeler | ×
The Mighty Mississippi is trying hard to change its course. Due to the build up of silt in the lower Mississippi channel, a portion of the water in the lower Mississippi actually reaches the Gulf through the Atchafalaya River, located west of the Mississippi but connected by a vast swamp north of Baton Rouge. This process is natural. Major rivers, left to their own meanderings, frequently change their course, especially in flat, swampy country.
If left alone, the buildup of silt caused by more frequent flooding in recent years would likely have caused much more of the Mississippi water to use the Atchafalaya Basin, instead. This would have left the major port cities of Baton Rouge and New Orleans on a river too shallow for ocean liners. The Old River Control Structure, an Army Corp of Engineers project built in the early 1960s north of
The Atchafalaya Basin - 1189 Words bartleby.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from bartleby.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
CPRA hosts two Atchafalaya public hearings February 18, 2021, by Eldin Ganic
The Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) will hold two virtual public hearings to receive public comments on the Fiscal Year 2022 Draft Atchafalaya Basin Program Annual Plan.
The meetings will take place on Thursday, February 25, 6:00 pm and on Monday, March 1, at 6:00 pm.
Also, CPRA will receive written comments and recommendations on the Fiscal Year 2022 Draft Atchafalaya Basin Program Annual Plan until March 27, 2021.
The Atchafalaya Basin Program is placed within the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, which will perform and exercise the powers, duties, functions, and responsibilities of the Program as provided by law.