MEMPHIS, Tennessee: The Mississippi River crested in Memphis on Tuesday at a height just inches short of the area's all-time record but still soaking low-lying areas with enough water to require a massive cleanup. National Weather Service meteorologist Bill Borghoff says the river reached 47.85 feet at 2 A.M. Tuesday and is expected to stay very close to that level for the next 24 to 36 hours. Reaching its high point means things shouldn't get worse in the area, but it will take weeks for the water to recede and much longer for inundated areas to recover. “Pretty much the damage has been done,” Borghoff said. The crest is just shy of the record of 48.7 feet at Memphis reached during a devastating 1937 flood. The soaking in Memphis was isolated to low-lying neighborhoods, and forced hundreds of people from their homes, but no new serious flooding was expected. Officials trusted the levees would hold and protect the city's world-famous musical landmarks, from Graceland to Beale Street. To the south, residents in the Mississippi Delta prepared for the worst. Farmers downriver built homemade levees to protect their crops and engineers diverted water into a lake to ease the pressure on New Orleans levees. Inmates in Louisiana's largest prison were also evacuated to higher ground. Meanwhile, Memphis declared that the city was open for business. “The country thinks we're in lifeboats and we are underwater. For visitors, its business as usual,” said Kevin Kane, president and chief executive of the Memphis Convention and Visitors Bureau.
