An Ol' Broad's Ramblings
Nature Strikes
Mississippi Flooding: Worst Is Yet to Come
William Jefferson paddles slowly down his street in a small boat, past his house and around his church, both flooded from the bulging Mississippi River that has rolled into the Delta.
“Half my life is still in there,” he said, pointing to the small white house swamped by several feet of water. “I hate to see it when I go back in.”
The river was taking aim at one of the most poverty-stricken parts of the country after cresting Tuesday at Memphis, Tenn., just inches short of the record set in 1937. Some low-lying Memphis neighborhoods were inundated, but the city’s high levees protected much of the rest of Memphis.
They make it sound like the river is intentionally going after the poorer neighborhoods. The river doesn’t care if you are rich or poor. Sadly, we don’t seem to learn from other historic natural disasters. Floods, hurricanes, mudslides and earthquakes happen on a regular basis. Some way worse than others. Yet people will forget their house slid down the side of a mountain, or was washed away in a flood, and rebuild in the same place. It’s heartbreaking to see so many losing so much. However, things can be replaced, people can not.
Jefferson’s neighborhood in Vicksburg, a historic Mississippi city and the site of a pivotal Civil War battle, has been one of the hardest hit. Jefferson refuses to leave, so he spends his days in the sweltering sun watching the water rise and sleeping in a camper at an intersection that’s likely to flood soon, too.
“If you don’t stay with your stuff, you won’t have it,” he said. “This is what I do every day. Just watch the water.”
That one sentence says a great deal about our society, doesn’t it. Our neighbors can’t be trusted not to steal our possessions? Perhaps if we post the Ten Commandments in our classrooms again, people will start getting the message…. Thou Shalt Not Steal!
But the worst is yet to come, with the crest expected over the next few days. The damage in Memphis was estimated at more than $320 million as the serious flooding began, and an official tally won’t be available until the waters recede.
We can’t control nature. Sorry, it’s just not possible. Nature will win in the end. We can, however, make preparations for the worst that may, or may not happen. I’ve no doubt that the dollar amount will rise in the not too distant future. Can we also hope that there will be a minimum of fraud?
We can pray for the families affected by this natural disaster. We can pray that there is a minimum loss of life. We can be ready to help out our neighbors, as best we are able.
I believe that flood was in 1927. I keep hearing both years but believe it was 1927.
I’ve heard both too.
One positive….either date was WAAAY before my time. 