STEELE BAYOU (AP) — The floodgate at the Steele Bayou structure has been closed to prevent water from the Mississippi River from spilling back inland and worsening an already devastating flood in the Yazoo Backwater Area.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said it closed the Steele Bayou floodgate Friday.

The gate closed Feb. 15 and reopened April 1. It closed again May 11 and reopened May 23.

Predictions show water inside levees could rise higher than this year’s earlier crest. That produced the worst flooding in the region since 1973, submerging more than 550,000 acres. About 40 percent was farmland.

Extended flooding means many area farmers won’t plant a crop, creating financial pressures.