Washington, May 29 (IANS): Mississippi River flooding has affected at least eight U.S. states since January, and it has become the longest-lasting since the "Great Flood" of 1927, the National Weather Service said.

This year's flooding is a result of early spring snowmelt and record-breaking spring rain, The Weather Channel said on Tuesday. Since the start of 2019, many parts of the lower Ohio and lower Mississippi river valleys have received more than two feet of rain, with some spots having over 40 inches of rain, Xinhua reported.

As of Tuesday, about 380 river gauges have reported levels above flood stage in central United States. Among them 71 gauges reported major flooding, 105 moderate flooding and 206 minor flooding, the weather service reported.

No deaths have been reported in the river flooding along the Mississippi, according to a USA Today report.

Hundreds of people died in the 1927 flooding, which remains the benchmark flood event for the country's biggest river.