The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says the near-historic Mississippi River flood of 2011 caused $2.8 billion in damage and tested the system of levees, reservoirs and floodways like no other flood before it.
The Army Corps released a report Monday saying the Mississippi River and Tributaries system was operated as it was designed to work and was mostly successful in fighting the flood along of the nation's most important inland waterway. However, the report shows there is room for improvement in all areas of the system. The spring 2011 flood exposed vulnerabilities in many system components and the plans used to operate them. The flood affected the Kentucky, Arkansas, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee.
