steve osunsami tested the water in memphis. >> reporter: we're outside a memphis school because this is one of the locations where we tested the water. health officials have been encouraging residents to stay away from the water, saying it's too dangerous. and we found out why. we tested the water here and in south memphis. while we found no evidence of pesticides or met talls. we found that the levels of e. coli, and bacteria, is 2,000 times above any acceptable limits. residents we talked with who we shared this with were obviously very upset. we're being told that any homeowners coming in contact with this should shower immediately. and that homes will have to be decontaminated because of this water exposure. steve osunsami, abc news, memphis. >>> and yet another consideration, all that standing water could stick around for weeks and also turn into a perfect breeding ground for mosquitos. >>> overseas, now, where nato air strikes have rocked libya's capital this morning. the attacks appear to be targeting gadhafi's compound in central libya. hours before that, gadhafi himself appe

>> steve osunsami in memphis for us again tonight. we should note that diane sawyer is also in the flood zone. she'll be anchoring this broadcast from memphis this time tomorrow night. >>> when we come back, she survived seven weeks stranded in the woods. a remarkable story on this mother's day. if you have gout, high uric acid can lead to more attacks. ♪ to help reduce attacks, lower your uric acid. uloric lowers uric acid levels in adults with gout. it's not for the treatment of high uric acid without a history of gout. uloric reduces uric acid to help you reach a healthy level. [ female announcer ] don't take uloric if you are taking azathioprine, mercaptopurine, or theophylline. gout may flare when starting uloric. don't stop taking it. your doctor may give you other medicines to help prevent flares. a small number of heart attacks, strokes, and heart-related deaths were seen in studies. it's not certain uloric caused them. certain tests to check liver function may be required. tell your doctor about liver or kidney problems, or

steve osunsami is on that route. he's on the famous but flooded beale street tonight in memphis. >> reporter: this is arguably the most famous street in memphis. b.b. king has a club up the street. this street sings the blues. tonight it is under several feet of water. for long time residents here, this is all a bad sign. old man river keeps rolling and rising tonight. >> i had to come down and see this, because this is historic. >> reporter: today the river at memphis was at 47 feet, the second highest ever. major flood stage, putting the city's leaking levees to a test. >> the rivers aren't expected to crest until wednesday? wow! >> across arkansas, missouri, mississippi and tennessee, authorities are asking thousands of residents to evacuate and find higher ground. in south memphis, the grandmother who now lives inches from rising flood waters was refusing to leave. >> this is going to take her to the point that the water is actually coming in the house. when she sees that, she'll leave. until then, you guys, us,

our steve osunsami decided to test them and the results are in tonight. steve, what did you find? >> reporter: well, good evening, diane. we are at the memphis school that you visited on monday. and the reason that we're here, this is one of the places where we tested the water. health officials had been warning residents to get out of the water, to stay clear of it, unless they are protected. and we found out why today. the results of our test were troubling. >> it's very nasty. it's very nasty. >> reporter: families across memphis told us they're afraid of the sludge-filled floodwaters that have poured into their homes and were curdling today in the 90-degree heat. >> i'm not scared of the snakes. i'm scared of the water. >> filthy. scary filthy. >> reporter: today, we found out for sure, we hired researchers to take two samples. one next to a school in an expensive neighborhood that's been struggling with visible trash in the water. the second from the low-income neighborhoods in south memphis where the water looked clean but smelled dirty. the lab results confirmed their fears

steve osunsami, abc news, tuscaloosa, alabama. >> great to see her smile. so much of this country still recovering. >>> we do move on tonight, and to politics. and there was quite a scene in washington today. sarah palin surrounded by cameras, climbing onto a harley to launch the first leg of a trip that looks like a campaign but looks, as we learned from donald trump, can be deceiving. why campaign if you're not running? here's david kerley now. >> reporter: dressed head to toe in black, sarah palin started her bus tour on the back of a motorcycle, arriving uninvited at the rolling thunder memorial, which honors p.o.w.s and grabbing much of the media attention. >> freedom is a god-given right. >> reporter: palin used a slick video to announce her bus tour which reportly will take her up the east coast to the first primary state of new hampshire. so, is this a launch of a presidential campaign? or a publicity tour? what does the bus tour indicate, governor? >> it indicates a desire on our part to get across america and remind others about our foundation, ho

steve osunsami is on that route. where more water is coming. he's on the famous but flooded beale street tonight in memphis. >> reporter: this is arguably the most famous street in memphis. b.b. king has a club up the street. this street sings the blues. tonight it is under several feet of water. for long time residents here, this is all a bad sign. old man river keeps rolling and rising tonight. >> i had to come down and see this, because this is historic. >> reporter: today the river at memphis was at 47 feet, the second highest ever. major flood stage, putting the city's leaking levees to a test. >> the rivers aren't expected to crest until wednesday? wow! >> across arkansas, missouri, mississippi and tennessee, authorities are asking thousands of residents to evacuate and find higher ground. in south memphis, the grandmother who now lives inches from rising flood waters was refusing to leave. >> this is going to take her to the point that the water is actually coming in the house. when she sees that, she'll leave. until then, you guys, us,

breaks your heart. >> well, there's better days coming. >> reporter: steve osunsami, abc news, memphis. >> very tough. >>> well, while the worst of that flooding disaster is still to come, millions of people across the south are still reeling from last week's deadly outbreak of tornados. they're still searching for the missing in seven states. the official death toll stands at 329. 42,000 people have registered with fema for federal aid. >>> switching gears to political news this morning. the republican presidential challenge got off to a pretty slow start last night. five less-well-known candidates took part in the first debate of the 2012 campaign in the early voting state of south carolina. they credited president obama for cornering osama bin laden. but predicted that a weak economy will cost him a second term. >>> and at the white house, president and mrs. obama celebrated cinco de mayo with high-profile hispanic-americans last night. the president revealed that the first lady's favorite food is, indeed, mexican. he warned the party, quote, he did not want to get between michelle

steve osunsami is in memphis again tonight where the waters are still rising. steve? >> reporter: good evening, david. we are north of the city in a neighborhood that was badly flooded. some of the people who lived here had to be rescued from their homes. we've seen fish and snakes running around. and we're told that this water could still be here by next week. tonight in memphis, in the mississippi river, there are 16 million gallons rushing by every single second. at 47.67 feet, it's already nearly two feet above major flood stage. >> all this water scares me. >> reporter: the levees and flood gates that protect the city are holding for now and are certainly making a difference. here's the city during its record floods of the 1920s and '30s. and here's today with nearly just as much water, but with levees working as they should. >> this is the second greatest flood in history. '27 would rank first. then comes this. this is going to test the system. >> reporter: but all across eastern tennessee and western arkansas, the big river has forced the little rivers to flood

to get more on that, steve osunsami, just north of memphis. what's going on there, steve? >> reporter: good morning, rob. we were here on friday, the water was not this high. this morning, the only way in our way out of this neighborhood is by boat. there are $500,000 homes here, several of them, buried under at least 6 of 7 feet of water. this is not the mississippi. this is the big creek, one of the tributaries. the big river is forcing the little river to flood. that is flooding out neighbors and home owners. thousands of people have had to evacuate. it took an hour and half to get here this morning. officials are telling us all of this water could still be here in two weeks. >> all right, steve, take care and everyone down there. >>> also down there is our diane sawyer. she'll have full coverage tonight on "world news." >>> now to the latest fallout from the mission against bin laden. we're hearing from pakistan this morning, that the u.s. will not be given access to the compound where bin laden had been living. no word yet on whether the wives of bin laden will be tur

steve osunsami is in millington, tennessee, where evacuations have begun. and steve, the worst is yet to come. >> reporter: good evening, george. behind me is big creek and it's getting bigger and bigger by the minute. swallowing homes. there are a few stop signs behind me that you can barely see. there's still the larger problem. the mississippi. today, it was just too much for rita watson. she could barely walk out of her memphis home. >> where do you start? >> reporter: everything she owned in the world was either soaking in her house or sitting painfully on the driveway. >> rest of it is no good. it's gone. we woke up and the water was halfway to the fence. the next morning, it was over the gas meter. and this is where it's at now. never seen anything like it before. never. >> reporter: it still could be so much worse. already, the mississippi is higher than it was during the flood that ruined memphis in 1927. today, there are levees and flood gates, most of them are holding, but most of them are leaking, too. is this a loss? >> i would think it would b

steve osunsami is on the banks of the mississippi in memphis again tonight and he has been looking for answers. steve, good evening. tell us what you're finding and how you're testing. >> reporter: well, diane, you don't have to look too closely at the water to see that it is very, very dirty. this is water that's pushing up against a school and some of the same water that's flooding neighborhoods, behind me, you can see the trash, we've seen medical waste here. you can smell the water. there's sewage in it. you can also feel the oily sheen on top of the water. we know there's gasoline, sewage in the water, oil. and there's even chemicals from washed out farmlands up north. we are testing the water, at this location, and a second location here in memphis. we've sent it to a lab. and we will have those test results for all of the many concerned residents here tomorrow. >> so, tomorrow night, we will have those results. you know, i think i recognize that school. i think i was there, too, we were there together, of course, yesterday. and, a little kid said to me, i'm going to go in that w

and i'm here now with steve osunsami. many of us covering this for abc news this weekend and today have seen family after family holding on and helping each other. you found a generation of -- four generations. >> we did, all in one home. families tell us they have a complicated relationship with the mississippi. they say the river defines them. it defines this community. it can also be so terribly devastating. in north haven, tennessee, the flood had forced four generations of charles hinkson's family to move into his home for shelter. it was supposed to be the safe place. >> we'll be on an island if it continues to rise. in fact, we're already on an island. >> reporter: tonight, the river has surrounded the home. the police have told them to go but they won't -- and they're hoping the water stops rising. >> at 7:00 they said it was going to crest, and i'm crossing my fingers and hoping they're right. >> reporter: his daughter heather, her husband and their 4-year-old daughter star moved in when the water at their home w

steve osunsami, abc news, memphis. >>> rough weather battering the nation's heartland has triggered as many as 13 twisters in iowa and nebraska. huge hailstones slammed southern wisconsin, hail ranging in size from marbles to softballs accompanied by severe thunderstorms and winds that topped 60 miles an hour. >>> and with that, here is a look at your weather today. severe storms from des moines, down to dallas. showers and thunderstorms in the twin cities. chicago, cincinnati and memphis. afternoon showers from the carolinas to miami. up to a half foot of snow in the northern rockies and cascades. and rain from seattle to portland. >> and near 70 in salt lake city. 66 in billings. 76 in sacramento. chicago 86 and kansas city 80. 70s in new york and baltimore. and upper 80s from miami to dallas. >>> it was the royal wedding hats that became so famous, or infamous really. it had its own facebook page, this hat. you can own it, this fascinator, for the right price. >> the right price being a nickel. we're talking about that pretzel-shaped thingy worn by princess beatrice. the princess's

but steve osunsami remains in the middle of it all. good morning, steve. >> reporter: good morning, josh. as the mississippi continues to crest, in communities all along the river, the water is expected to remain, for some time. and that is a huge problem. this water is absolutely filthy. filled with garbage, sewage, runoff from farmland upstream. and officials here are sounding a health alarm, telling residents not to step in it unless they're protected with boots or some type of rubber protection. to the south, in the mississippi delta, they're now placing plastic along the levee walls. officials are saying they're concerned that as the water rises, the water will overtop the levees and then begin to erode the side walls. and, josh, that's something they say just can't happen. >> so many elements to this disaster. steve osunsami with the latest. >>> meanwhile, today marks the two-month anniversary since the tsunami disaster in japan. one of the most powerful images from that day, was this tourist boat, which washed atop that building

i hope you never understand that. >> reporter: steve osunsami, abc news, north haven, tennessee. >>> and downstream in louisiana, they're now preparing for the rising waters. prisoners have been evacuated from the state's toughest penitentiary. they've also opened up floodgates there to relieve pressure on levees outside of new orleans. governor bobby jindal has activated hundreds of national guard troops for emergency duty. he's telling people across the state to stay away from the levees. >>> as threatening as the floodwaters are along the mississippi, memphis may actually be in better shape than louisiana and other areas to the south. that city prides itself in the strength of its levees but they've never been tested quite like this before. jim avila has the story. >> reporter: this is the biggest threat to the massive levee system protecting memphis. ground zero for the army corps of engineers. >> this is a sand boil. >> reporter: a sand boil, a fountain of bubbling water on the dry side of the levee. a danger sign that the mississippi is finding its way beneath the levee system.

and steve osunsami is in memphis, tennessee, where people are evacuating their homes before the high water. steve, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, bianna. the mississippi river here at memphis is at nearly 47 feet, which is the second-highest level ever recorded. floodwaters are now swallowing communities up and down the mississippi. when we passed by this playground yesterday, it was covered with just a few inches of this river, mixed with sewage. today, a few feet. these are new pictures of what is already a flood for the ages. from southeast illinois, to northeast arkansas, to northwest tennessee. the floodwaters have swallowed homes and are putting people on the move. in memphis, a crisis this morning. amy palmer and other residents are coming to fill sandbags. >> it's going to destroy thousands of peel's homes. everything you have in your life, you're going to lose. if you can imagine that, it's heartbreaking. >> reporter: rita watson doesn't have to imagine. her home is flooded. her life's possessions are ruined. her heart is broken. >> we woke up. and the water

thousands of the 4 million people who live along the river have already evacuated, and our steve osunsami is in memphis where some areas are already underwater. steve, i want to say good morning to you, but for a lot of people there, it is not a good morning at all. >> reporter: it is not a good morning for so many people. this is a poor neighborhood on the south end of memphis. the mississippi river has traveled five miles to swallow these homes. most of the families who live here tell us they do not have flood insurance, they never thought they'd need it. they can't believe this is happening. from southern illinois to the gulf of mexico, more than 4 million people live in the areas next to the mississippi, and from now until the end of may, most of them will be nervously watching the rising river. all weekend long authorities from arkansas to tennessee have been urging thousands of families in harm's way to leave their homes because the river is coming. >> we have to get a u-haul truck and we'll have to evacuate. >> reporter: the river is expected to crest in memphis at 48 feet on monda

and our steve osunsami is in memphis, tennessee, where people are evacuating their homes ahead of the high waters. steve, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, bianna. this morning, the mississippi river here at memphis is at nearly 47 feet, which is the second-highest level ever recorded. floodwaters are now swallowing communities up and down the mississippi. when we passed by this playground yesterday, it was covered with just a few inches of this river, mixed with sewage. today, a few feet. these are new pictures of what is already a flood for the ages. from southern illinois, to southeast missouri, to northeast arkansas, to northwest tennessee. the floodwaters have swallowed homes and are putting families on the move. in memphis, a crisis this morning. amy palmer and other residents are coming to fill sandbags. >> it's going to destroy thousands of people's homes. everything you've ever had in your life, you're going to lose. if you can imagine that, it's just heartbreaking. >> reporter: rita watson doesn't have to imagine. her home is flooded. her life's possessions are

and our steve osunsami is in memphis, tennessee, where people are evacuating their homes ahead of the high waters. steve, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, bianna. this morning, the mississippi river here at memphis is at nearly 47 feet, which is the second-highest level ever recorded. floodwaters are now swallowing communities up and down the mississippi. when we passed by this playground yesterday, it was covered with just a few inches of this river, mixed with sewage. today, a few feet. these are new pictures of what is already a flood for the ages. from southern illinois, to southeast missouri, to northeast arkansas, to northwest tennessee. the floodwaters have swallowed homes and are putting families on the move. in memphis, they face a crisis this morning. amy palmer and hundreds of other residents have come to fill sandbags. >> this is going to destroy thousands upon thousands of people's homes. everything you've ever had in your life, you're going to lose. if you can imagine that, it's just heartbreaking. >> reporter: rita watson doesn't have to imagine. her home

thousands of the 4 million people who live along the river have already evacuated and our steve osunsami is in memphis where some areas are already underwater. i want to say good morning to you but for a lot of people there it is not a good morning at all. >> reporter: it is not a good morning for so many people. this is a poor neighborhood on the south end of memphis, the mississippi river has traveled five miles to swallow these homes. most of the families who live here tell us they do not have flood insurance. they never thought they'd need it. they can't believe this is happening. from southern illinois to the gulf of mexico more than 4 million people live in the areas next to the mississippi, and from now until the end of may, most of them will be nervously watching the rising river. all weekend long authorities from arkansas to tennessee have been urging thousands of families in harm's way to leave their homes because the river is coming. >> get a u-haul truck and we'll have to evacuate. >> reporter: the river is expected to crest in memphis at 48 feet on monday, two days earlier t

our steve osunsami is in memphis, in the middle of it all. steve? >> reporter: good morning, josh. we are west of downtown. behind me, a park bench buried underneath all that water. we talked to homeowners here, who said that last night, they were able to go fishing from their back deck. and they caught a few. the mississippi river is expected to crest at 48 feet on wednesday. already, the rivers and creeks and streams in this region are flooding roadways. we watched many people evacuate. last night, we watched the police academy. they had to evacuate by boat. residents are taking everything they can, from their homes, desperate to save what they can. there's lots of water over many roadways across the region, including interstate 40, the main highway between here and little rock, is closed. >> staggering pictures, steve, of a story that is, sadly, just beginning. >>> finally, this morning, the faa is deciding today whether to allow a swiss daredevil to perform a stunt over the grand canyon. yves rossy wants to fly over the canyon, in his specially-made, jet-propelled wingsuit. he'

our steve osunsami is in memphis, quite literally, in the middle of it all. steve? >> reporter: good morning, josh. the mississippi river has certainly arrived here. we are west of downtown. behind me, a park bench buried underneath all that water. we talked to homeowners here, who told us that last night, they were able to go fishing from their back deck. and they caught a few. the mississippi river is expected to crest at 48 feet on wednesday. already, the rivers and streams and creeks in this region are flooding roadways. we watched many people evacuate. last night, we watched the police academy. they had to evacuate by boat. residents are taking everything they can, from their homes, desperate to save what they can. there's lots of water over many roadways across the region, including interstate 40, the main highway between here and little rock, is closed. josh? >> staggering pictures, steve, of a story that is, sadly, just beginning. >>> finally, this morning, the faa is deciding today whether to allow a swiss daredevil to perform a stunt over the grand canyon.

. >> reporter: steve osunsami, abc news, memphis. >>> flood waters are now surrounding the louisiana state penitentiary. in angola. and the warden is putting those inmates to work. making them fill 60,000 sandbags to protect that prison. they're also building a tent city. need it if the levee fails and inmates have to be evacuated from their cells. dire, dire situations up and down the mississippi. >> sure is. the pictures there, it's really bright and sunny but that might not stay the case. when we look at the weather now light sprinkle is due for parts of the mississippi valley. showers and thunderstorms from cleve andurgh rain and mountain snow from seattle to great falls, montana. showers from nebraska, iowa and also minnesota. >> near 70 in minneapolis, 66 in chicago and 76 in omaha. 70s from atlanta to boston. 84 in miami. phoenix 99 and 83 in colorado springs and 74 in salt lake city. >>> and now to the new information from inside the bin laden compound that indicates al qaeda was plotting a terror attack on the u.s. rail system. the attack was apparently timed to take place o

steve osunsami joins us this morning. >> reporter: good morning, george. you need protective gear because of the sludge and garbage, in what was a beautiful river. there is oil and gas and fertilizer flowing downstream. tennessee health officials have been warning residents to keep out of floodwaters. we decided to test the safety of the water. >> it's nasty. >> i'm not scared of the snakes. i'm scared of the water. >> i can't believe that states like mississippi and arkansas haven't sued us. >> reporter: we took our first test here, in what was a play area behind this memphis school. we then moved to the city's south side and took a second sample from this flooded neighborhood. >> that's awful. >> reporter: the test results were shocking. the levels of deadly e. coli, coal form, and bacteria in both stamps were 2,000-times higher than any acceptable level. >> there will be a certain amount of decontamination that have to be done. especially in any structure that humans are living. >> reporter: leaning up just got more complicated. thousands of dollars to

steve osunsami reports now from memphis. >> reporter: you don't have to look too closely at the water to see that it is very, very dirty. this is water that is pushing up against a school, and some of the same water that's flooding neighborhoods. behind me you can see the trash, we've seen medical waste here, you can smell the water. there's sewage in it. you can also feel the oily sheen on top of the water. >> we were supposed to have filters on it for ten years and they've never put them on. >> reporter: now you've got -- what do you think? i mean you've seen -- i've been told you are seeing syringes. >> yeah, right, everything, right? everything that you can imagine that people throw out of their cars, all of the liter, all over, all over memphis. all just lands right here into our harbor and goes right on down into the gulf of mexico. >> reporter: we are testing the water at this location and a second location here in memphis, we've sent it to a lab, and we will have those test results for all of the many concerned residents here. >>> switching gears now. one of osama bin laden's