US Coast Guard Restricts Traffic on Swollen Lower Mississippi

摘要

The US Coast Guard started restricting traffic on the Lower Mississippi River Thursday due to high water levels -a move that could slow down the movement of crude and refined products to and from refineries along the river that comprise nearly 15% of US refining capacity. A 190-mile stretch of the river, from Baton Rouge south to the Gulf of Mexico, could be closed to all traffic as early as Monday. Closure would be triggered if a key waterlevel indicator, the Carrollton gauge in New Orleans,reaches 18 feet. The city's TimesPicayune newspaper reported that the level had already risen above 17 feet.