Jackson Free Press

ROBINSONVILLE, Miss. (AP) — The latest on flooding in Mississippi. (All times local)

11:46 a.m.

A National Weather Service flood forecaster says flood crests for part of the lower Mississippi River are being cut.

Marty Pope, based in the Weather Service's Pearl, Mississippi, office, says

The decrease follows a cut in predicted crests between Cairo, Illinois and the mouth of the Arkansas river. Pope says levels at Cairo peaked lower because water flowing to the Ohio River was held back behind dams in Kentucky.

Pope says the lowered forecasts means impacts will be similar to the flood of 2008 around Greenville and Vicksburg. That's still a lot of water, but less than the record-setting flood of 2011.

He says crest heights in Natchez and further south will remain higher, meaning the threat of flooding in Vidalia, Louisiana and in Fort Adams, Mississippi could remain higher.

11 a.m.

Tunica Cut-Off residents are evacuating cars, boats and mobile homes, but few homes in the low-lying area are expected to be flooded by the Mississippi River

Tunica County Emergency Manager Randy Stewart says that with a lowered flood forecast, water is likely to threaten only a handful of homes in the area on the exposed side of the levee.

Hundreds of homes in Tunica Cut-Off flooded in 2011, but most were rebuilt on stilts, cutting the likelihood of future flooding.

Stewart says the county has closed the Tunica Riverpark museum, but does not expect that the structure will flood. He says that water may encroach on some lower-level parking lots at the Fitz Tunica Casino & Hotel, but Stewart expects the casino to continue operating.

10 a.m.

Bally's Tunica Casino has reopened as flood forecasts fall along the Mississippi River.

Mississippi Gaming Commission Executive Director Allen Godfrey says the casino, which closed Sunday, reopened at 9 a.m. Monday.

Godfrey says that Bally's, one of the smallest of the eight casinos in Tunica County, typically is the first to encounter flooding problems. However, he says that casino operators and regulators now believe that the current high water will not force the closure of any casinos in the northern Mississippi County. He says it's too early to tell whether casinos in Greenville and Vicksburg will be affected.

The 2011 flood caused all Tunica County casinos to close, creating a significant revenue loss and aggravating the decline of business at the gambling halls.

5:39 a.m.

The Mississippi River at Natchez reached flood stage Saturday evening and is expected to continue to rise.

Forecaster Anna Wolverton with the Jackson office of the National Weather Service tells The Natchez Democrat (http://bit.ly/1JSM6V4) the river level reached 48 feet on the Natchez gauge at approximately 6 p.m. Saturday.

On Sunday, the river measured 48.55 feet.

Adams County Emergency Management Director Robert Bradford said Carthage Point Road was shut down Saturday night, and, at 50 feet, water would start to rise on Silver Street.

Wolverton says residents living around the levee should be cautious.

Natchez Mayor pro tem Joyce Arceneaux Mathis said last week the city has been in contact with property owners in low-lying areas.