(CNN) — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opened the first of potentially several bays of the Morganza spillway on Saturday afternoon, a move intended to spare some areas from severe flooding while redirecting water into others.
“Protecting lives is the No. 1 thing we are looking for,” Gen. Michael Walsh, president of the Mississippi River Commission, told reporters prior to the opening. “That’s exactly what we’re doing as we operate the different systems on the Mississippi River.”
On Saturday afternoon, the river was cresting near Helena, Arkansas, at 56.4 feet — 12.4 feet above the flood stage, the level at which the river may begin flowing over its banks — the National Weather Service noted on its website. That crest, or high point of water, was moving slowly and steadily southward.
