Office of External Affairs
U.S. Coast Guard

Date: June. 17, 2008  

Contact:  Public Information Office
Office:
(314) 269-2623/2602

Coast Guard Continues Response to Midwest Flooding

ST. LOUIS - U.S. Coast Guard units continue to respond to Midwest flooding with small boat crews in the field, coordination with State Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs) and coordination with the marine transportation industry and incident management and oversight operations here.

Coast Guard Disaster Area Response Teams (DARTs) are assisting state and local agencies by conducting a variety of missions in the Burlington, Iowa and Quincy, Ill., areas.  An additional DART is en route to the area and will arrive in Hannibal, Mo., from Memphis, Tenn., today.  In all, the Coast Guard will have five DARTs conducting flood response throughout the region.  Each DART consists of three small boats and seven crewmembers.  Accompanying the DARTs in some areas are small boat crews from the Coast Guard Cutters Scioto, Wyaconda and Sangamon, which are all based in the Western Rivers region.

"My priority for our field operations is to provide as much direct assistance as we can to local officials who are coordinating response efforts," said Cmdr. Mark Cunningham, Incident Commander for Coast Guard flood operations.

In addition to operations in the field, the Coast Guard has activated a Marine Transportation System Recovery Unit (MTSRU), which is working with maritime transportation leaders and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to facilitate the safe and orderly movement of marine traffic in conjunction with the Waterways Action Plan (WAP). The WAP was created by the Coast Guard, marine industry and the Army Corps of Engineers to ensure safety of life and navigation, protection of infrastructure and property, and to prevent marine casualties during extreme conditions on the inland rivers.

The Mississippi River is closed to recreational boating from Lock and Dam 12 near Clinton, Iowa, to the Jefferson Barracks Bridge, south of St. Louis, due to hazardous conditions associated with swift river currents, large debris and to facilitate sand bagging operations along the river's levees.

The river is open to commercial traffic.  Towing vessels should have a minimum of 250 horsepower for each loaded barge and should proceed at the slowest safe operating speed, based on prevailing conditions, in order to minimize wake.  All towboats are prohibited from laying up on levees. 

All mariners are advised that river levels in St. Louis Harbor continue to rise rapidly and forecasted heights may vary.  All mariners should monitor current river stages to maintain proper bridge clearances and to ensure safe navigation through St. Louis Harbor.

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U.S. Coast Guard - Saving lives since 1790