|
By Kent
Kuyper, Senior Forecaster & Montra Lockwood, Service Hydrologist
|
Early on December 7, 2004, five barges carrying rock down the
Red River,
south of Alexandria, broke loose and drifted downstream to Overton Lock
and Dam. The barges hit the dam, causing three of them to sink and
damaging one of the gates on the dam that released water downstream.
|
|
Left: One of the barges shoved up against
the lock and dam.
The barges
also impeded water flow, creating a dramatic rise in water levels
upstream. Water levels at Overton Lock and Dam are normally around 64
feet, while the Red River at Alexandria is normally around 20 feet. Two
days after the accident, water levels rose to 73 feet at the Lock and to
near 31 feet at Alexandria, about one foot shy of flood stage. Some
minor flooding was noted by the Rapides Sheriff Office. There were no
reports of homes flooded, as the area is sparsely populated. |
|
Right: One of the barges damaged from the accident and “Big Gun”.
The Army
Corp of Engineers was able to stem the rising waters by opening all the
gates at the lock. This reduced the water levels to 5 to 6 feet below
normal. River traffic was closed while recovery operations took place.
The “Big Gun”, a salvage barge, was moved to the site, and lead the
effort to raise the three barges. |
|
|
Left: Pieces of the barge can
be seen below the dam.
By January
11th, the barges were cleared. The Army Corps of Engineers
began to raise the water level behind the lock back to normal levels.
Some fluctuations in river levels occurred over the next several weeks
as cleanup operations shifted below the dam to remove the portions of
the barge that moved through and below the lock during the accident.
Recovery operations were completed by the end of January. |
|
www.nws.noaa.gov 
