Bill Dries

President Barack Obama is headed to Memphis to meet with families and local officials who have struggled through flooding caused byt he Mississippi River. The president will also give a commencement address at Booker T. Washington High School, which has seen its graduation rates rise remarkably in just three years. Bill Dries, reporter for the Memphis Daily News reports.

The Mississippi River reached near record levels on Monday when it crested at 48 feet around 7 p.m. Experts, who have been watching as heavy rains swell the waterway's thousands of tributaries and feeder streams, expect the level to remain high for at least the next 48 hours. Memphis residents began to evacuate their homes over the weekend, for fear that the flood waters could rise high enough to become a serious threat. This flooding might prove more devastating than the 1927 floods, which killed hundreds and flooded tens of thousands of farmland acreage.

Memphis, Tennessee is the next place to be hit by the 100-year flood racing south down the Mississippi. About 1,300 households have been evacuated so far, and 500 people have gone to shelters set up around the city in preparation for the 48 foot high crest expected on Tuesday morning before heading further south into Mississippi. Bill Dries, reporter for the Memphis Daily News, who says that Memphis' commerce will take a hit, but that state and local emergency management authorities in Tennessee have been coordinating successfully.