Viral Video Shows Mississippi River Flooding at St. Louis as River Approaches Historic Levels

Stunning drone footage of the Mississippi River showed how much the waterway had swelled before it crested over the weekend.

The drone captured footage of the Mississippi and the River Des Peres in south St. Louis Saturday, as the rivers approached historic heights.

The video, viewed roughly 7,500 times as of Tuesday 4.00 a.m. ET, shows rows of half submerged trees and street lamps peeking out from the surface of the water. Dozens of large sandbags form temporary flood barriers. Stretches of highway disappear beneath the water as vehicles splash through other, less saturated, roads.

Other aerial images have shown the devastating extent of the flooding that has hit the Mississippi in recent weeks. The enormous river is the second largest in North America, and borders or passes ten U.S. states.

This morning, we took to the skies in a helicopter to look at the flooding along the Mississippi River. The vast amounts of water are hard to put into words. This flood has impacted a lot of lives and forever changed the landscape in these areas of southern Illinois. pic.twitter.com/ca5ieY0vUy

— Nick Hausen (@NickHausenWx) June 5, 2019

Over the weekend, the River Des Peres was higher than 30 feet near St. Louis this weekend, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. But water levels dipped back below 30 feet Monday.

The Mississippi River hit almost 45 feet high at St Louis Saturday, and continues to hover around the 45-foot mark, the agency reported. The two rivers crested on Sunday morning, according to local station KTVI.

During the Great Flood of 1993, the Mississippi River crested at 49.6 feet at St Louis, The Weather Channel previously reported. On Sunday, it crested at 46.02 feet, according to the National Weather Service, the second highest in history.

The Mississippi River at St. Louis crested @ 46.02 ft. Second highest crest in history, falling roughly 3.5 ft short of the record crest of 1993. Second major flood crest this year & 6th time since 2013. Of the 12 major crests, half have occurred in the past six years. #stlwx pic.twitter.com/M4SWCX2VQX

— NWS St. Louis (@NWSStLouis) June 9, 2019

Back in 1993, some 20 million acres of land were submerged when the Mississippi and Missouri rivers flooded over a period of several months, NASA previously noted. The record-breaking flood was one of the most devastating and costly in U.S. history. Although this weekend's river [levels didn't reach those heights], the extent of recent flooding has caused serious disruption to numerous industries, including farming.

Chris Boerm, a transportation manager for an agricultural commodities company, recently told Bloomberg: "In '93, the flood was really kind of concentrated in Iowa and the Upper Midwest... This has been much more expansive, getting all the inland rivers."

Mississippi River, Flood, St Louis
ST. LOUIS, MO - JUNE 7: A couple pauses to look on at the rising Mississippi River along the Gateway Archgrounds on June 7, 2019 in St. Louis, Missouri. Getty/Michael B. Thomas

The Ohio River, the Illinois River and the Arkansas River have all been affected, as well as the whole of the Mississippi.

Iowa corn farmer Bob Hemesath added: "We are going to be missing almost three months of river traffic, I don't even know how we will get caught up...If the river facilities don't have barges that are caught up on old crop they won't be able to ship new crop. It's another stress for farmers."

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Katherine Hignett is a reporter based in London. She currently covers current affairs, health and science. Prior to joining Newsweek ... Read more

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