Communities along the Mississippi River continue to prepare for massive flooding that is making its way downriver toward Louisiana. The Army Corps of Engineers is using a huge system of levees and spillways to try to control where the water goes.

Last week, the Corps dynamited a levee in Missouri in order to flood farmland and spare the city of Cairo, Illinois. Now, they might do a similar thing in Louisiana to spare several residential communities along the river.

New Orleans is the last major city along the river before it empties into the Gulf of Mexico, and officials are making sure the city's levees are in good enough shape to withstand the pressure from the swelling Mississippi. Residents along the river say they don't want to leave their homes and will work to make sure they can stay in their communities, no matter what it takes.

The first three minutes and 17 seconds of this video explains what's currently happening along the Mississippi River, while the rest is a discussion with two experts on the topic.

"I have got a neighbor that's got $2.5 million worth of wheat flooded right now. And -- I mean, it's gone." - Nathan Reed, Arkansas

"We love it here. We don't want to leave here. We want to go home. And we're going to do whatever it takes to stay there." - Melanie Delhome, Tunica, Miss.

1. What is a flood?

2. What are some factors that would make a town or city more likely to experience a flood?

3. What can communities do to prevent a flood?

1. Has your home or community ever flooded? If so, what steps did you and your family take to prepare and help with cleanup?

2. Why do you think the Corps of Engineers decided to flood farmland instead of cities? If you were a farmer, how do you think you would feel about that?

3. Where does water in rivers come from? What causes floods like this one?