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.
A report released Monday by the Army Corps said the Mississippi River and Tributaries system was operated as it was designed to work and was mostly successful in fighting the flood along most of the nation's most important inland waterway. However, the report said the spring 2011 flood exposed vulnerabilities in many system components and the plans used to operate them. The report said there is room for improvement in nearly all areas of the system.
The report said the flood affected the lower Mississippi River states of Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas and Tennessee.