Crops worth $150 to 200 million perish in Mississippi floods

Nearly 600 homes have been flooded and thousands evacuated in Rena Lara as waters from the Mississippi river and its tributaries rose to record levels on Tuesday.

Officials have assured residents of immediate relief measures and Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour puts the loss of crops from the floods at $150 million to $200 million.

He said, “The state is asking local officials to get in touch with people who might have no electricity and phones and thus no way to get word of the flooding.”

It’s a tiny number but we have to find them, he added and advised people to leave their homes if the situation worsens.

President Barack Obama on Wednesday signed a disaster declaration for 14 counties in Mississippi, covering cover housing and home repairs and low interest rates to cover uninsured damage.

The record levels of water in the Mississippi River since the 1920s and 1930s also reflect heavy snow melt and rains, experts said. Andy Prosser, spokesperson of Mississippi Department of Agriculture said wheat, corn, soybeans, cotton and rice crops in about 600,000 acres of land were affected by the floods.