Page 9 - Heather Stapleton News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

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katie couric. >> couric: good evening, everyone. the government is taking new steps to control the rain- swollen mississippi. for weeks now, flooding along the river has wiped out roads, destroyed homes and forced entire towns to evacuate. today to relieve pressure on levees the u.s. coast guard closed the port at natchez to barge traffic, effectively severing a major shipping artery. and, as national correspondent dean reynolds reports, that could cost the u.s. economy dearly. >> reporter: in vidalia, louisiana, carla jenkins tug boat business is down 80%. >> i would say probably $7...

no work. >> reporter: the river at natchez is three feet higher than its record but closing the river at any point threatens to back up the conga line of commerce usually plying its waters. experts say a larger closure all the way to new orleans could cost the u.s. economy $300 million a day. but the coast guard said the barge traffic-- and the wake it stirs up-- would put too much pressure on the fragile flood walls. on saturday, the army corps of engineers opened the floodgates at a spill ty relieve pressure on the main levee systems. this latest move to stop barge traffic is yet a...