Mississippi Delta braces for historic flood

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By HOLBROOK MOHR and SHELIA BYRD

TUNICA, Miss. (AP) - The bulging Mississippi River rolled into the fertile Mississippi Delta on Tuesday, threatening to swamp antebellum mansions, wash away shotgun shacks, and destroy fields of cotton, rice and corn in a flood of historic proportions.

The river took aim at one of the most poverty-stricken parts of the country after cresting before daybreak at Memphis, Tenn., just inches short of the record set in 1937. Some low-lying neighborhoods were inundated, but the city's high levees protected much of the rest of Memphis.

Over the past week or so in the Delta, floodwaters along the rain-swollen river and its backed-up tributaries have already washed away crops, forced many people to flee to higher ground and closed some of the dockside casinos that are vital to the state's economy.

But the worst is yet to come, with the crest expected to roll through the Delta over the next few days.

Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20110510/D9N4QSD00.html

---

Homes on Mud Island sit in floodwater Tuesday, May 10, 2011, in Memphis, Tenn. The Mississippi River crested in Memphis at nearly 48 feet on Tuesday, falling short of its all-time record but still soaking low-lying areas with enough water to require a massive cleanup. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

[Sonoman]

1. Dead Zone, here we come.

Those heavy waters are going to drive all kinds of awful stuff out into the Gulf.

What a mess we have made.

Sonoman

[Pachamama]

2. We suffered a devastating flood 5 1/2 years ago - it was a 100 yr event & destroyed our house

We had to completely rebuild the house after the force of the flood waters pushed so hard against the house & literally pushed it in the direction of the flood waters & caused the cripple walls to be wracked. The whole house started having serious structural problems. Then to add insult to injury, the insurance carrier we bought the flood policy from, denied our claim, claiming it was pre-existing damage. Even though the govt is who issues the flood policies, it authorizes private insurance companies to act as "their agents" in making decisions & handling claims. So here we were, with a devastated house structurally, being told by a structural engineer he wouldn't have our children in it in the event of an earthquake & that it had been compromised structurally. We had 3 options: 1) sell it & have to fully disclose the damage & thus lose our entire downpayment since we had only purchased the house 6 mos earlier; 2) do nothing & live in a structurally unsound house; 3) rebuild the house. We chose to spend the money & rebuild instead of losing lots of money or risking our families safety. But the worst thing was that instead of getting our insurance monies paid in a claim, we had to sue the insurance company in federal court. It took several years and when we got to court, we prevailed, but our legal costs were so high, the insurance monies eventually received was peanuts compared to the loss & cost to rebuild. We had to use all our savings & take out a 2nd mortgage. Looking back now, we would have been better off selling At the time and taking the loss, because with the current real estate market have now lost far more in the value.

I share this story because in addition to the devastation of being displaced from your home, exposed to raw sewage & toxic chemicals in these waters, all the people being affected, even those who may be fortunate to have " flood insurance" will have to face such stress & financial hardship to come. I really feel for them right now and know how horrible this is. I'm praying for all of them to be okay.

[Odin2005]

3. This has been one AWFUL spring!

:(

[snooper2]

4. A place called Mud Island

doesn't sound like a good place to build a house :hide: :spank:

[Frank Cannon]

6. My thoughts exactly. No need for a whippin'.

I would think it would be like building your home in the Tornado Valley or at the bottom of Avalanche Hill.

[Champion Jack]

5. K & R