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The Mississippi
River flood of 1997 resulted in the second highest river stage
ever at Baton Rogue (42 feet: 7 feet over flood stage) and was a
near record flood for the river throughout Louisiana. It fully
inundated the river’s leveed floodplain from the Arkansas state
line to the Gulf of Mexico. It also caused the Bonnet Carre’
Spillway to be opened fro the first time since 1983 to protect the
levees in New Orleans by discharging flood waters through Lake
Pontchatrain and safely around the city. Low lying communities
along both the Mississippi and its major distributary, the
Atchafalaya River, including parts of St. Francisville and Angola
Penitentiary on the Mississippi and Morgan City on the
Atchafalaya, were inundated during the flood. The high river
stages and swift currents also caused some accidents involving
river commerce. Two such accidents near Baton Rogue involved the
spillage of hazardous materials into the river.
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