Mississippi River Flood 2011

Naturally, when you live 20 miles east of the Mississippi River bank, your thoughts can become almost consumed with wondering if the levee protecting you from this mighty force of water is going to hold.  Are we really safe?  Are the river gauges really giving accurate readings of how high the water is?  When will the river crest?  The answers to these questions change daily.  I’ve made a plan of action should we have to leave and seek higher ground.  The logical voice inside my head tells me we will probably be ok.  We have a very strong levee system in place and authorities are assuring us that unless something drastic happens ( a breach at Arkansas City, major sand boils, complete levee failure, etc.), we should be perfectly fine.

My grandfather, who I never got to meet in this lifetime, was one of many men that helped build the current levee that is in place protecting our small region of the Delta.  This was right after the great flood of 1927.  He was just a teenager in school and worked in the long, hot sun that particular summer building what is currently in place protecting the river towns in our county and the surrounding area.   I’m sure as he toiled in the sweltering, merciless Delta sun he never imagined some 70-something years later his hand in the hard work would be so depended on by his living children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren facing flood proportions almost never seen since that time.

Friends and acquaintances have posted pictures of the flooding on Facebook.  Lots of lakefront properties inside the levee completely inundated with water and many of the small riverside cities facing major flooding.  Perhaps just as heartbreaking…the pictures of the wild animals, especially the deer and hogs, seeking refuge within city limits.  I’ve seen the river come up pretty high back in 1997, but never anything like this.  It’s amazing and very concerning all at once. But so far, though it’s never been tested this high, the levee holds.

The next few days will tell the tale for our county when the reported crest should happen.  I’m confident my town will be ok, but still heart-heavy for those already affected, and not just in Mississippi.  Every state along the river is dealing with flooding.  Old Man River isn’t playing favorites.  He isn’t showing a whole lot of mercy, either.