OUR FLOOD HISTORY IS TALKING TO US

The Mississippi River highwater conditions in the spring of 2011, rivaled the flood levels of the 1927 flood. This time the levees held. Northeast Louisiana was spared a chocolate tide of water, mud and stench. It’s hard to imagine the economic losses that were prevented. The success in 2011 was a victory that should be remembered and celebrated.

A levee failure damages a region twice. There is the physical damage from the water, then the damage to the brand. People will talk about the levee failure for decades. This is not conducive to economic development. The 5^th Levee District and the Tensas Basin Levee District both stood a vigilant watch in 2011. A reflection of character, tradition and understanding the hardship of a flood. 

This was not the first Mississippi River highwater that justified the call to action in recent years. I recall State Representative Francis Thompson rallying the region during the 1997 highwater and the planning efforts of Tensas Parish Emergency Manager Rick Foster. We all learned about the "Chocolate Tide" scenario together.

In the late summer of 1927, the floodwaters were subsiding. Flood Czar Herbert Hoover rallied the nation for flood control. In an August 1927 interview, he gave an accounting of the flood and talked about legislation to reduce the flooding. A reporter asked, "Then the people of the valley can feel that they can go to sleep in the belief that the problem is solved?". Mr. Hoover responded, "You can never go to sleep on anything in this world. Now is the time as never before to keep efficiently functioning the organization born of this flood disaster."

What was he talking about? What did he mean by, “Now is the time as never before to keep efficiently functioning the organization born of this flood disaster."

President Coolidge had appointed U.S. Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover to manage the 1927 flood relief efforts. He coordinated with multiple states, the American Red Cross, the Army and other organizations. He rallied the nation to support relief efforts. He was saying, our team fought the flood, we will recover together, and we will make the case for flood control legislation together.

This is our history talking to us.

We must keep our team born of the 2016 flood disaster together to once again legislate flood risk reduction.

Source: Owensboro Inquirer KY, Newspaper.com, Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How it Changed America and local knowledge.

Tom M.

The Clarksdale Press Register
Clarksdale, Mississippi
23 Apr 1927, Sat • Page 1

Researched by Tom Malmay