Posted 05.19.2011 at 2:10 pm
14 Comments
Homemade Levee
Click here to read more about our efforts to tame the mighty Mississippi--and how those efforts are failing--in our feature.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
All of that water pouring out of spillways and topping levees up and down the Mississippi River has to go somewhere, and many living in those areas prone to flooding have taken drastic action to keep from being inundated. In what could be called a testament to the human instinct to protect hearth and home, some in the disaster zone are holding out by taking civil engineering into their own hands, building makeshift levees to keep the rising waters at bay. Click through the gallery to see how far some homeowners have gone to protect their properties.
Click to launch the photo gallery
Many residents of low-lying areas can't rely on government infrastructure to protect their homes--in fact, in some cases it's the government that's flooding them. In an effort to spare population centers like New Orleans and Baton Rouge, the Army Corps of Engineers have opened the Mississippi's three major spillways--the Birds Point-New Madrid spillway in Missouri, the Morganza spillway near Morganza, La., and the Bonnet Carre just north of New Orleans--the first time all three have been opened up at the same time.
In other places, the overflowing Mississippi has left local rivers with no place to put their overflow. Floodwaters claimed their first victim today as a 69-year-old man was pulled form the waters by firefighters in Vicksburg, Miss., which is today buried beneath the levee-topping Yazoo river. The destruction in Vicksburg--where the water is expected to crest at 57.1 feet today--and along the Yazoo River (where the images in the gallery above were taken) is just a microcosm of the larger devastation stretching from the Great Lakes to the Gulf.
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image 7 of 9's levee doesn't seem to be working. Damn you Hydrostatic pressure!! Foiled again!!
No man is an island? At least he'll be dry!
It's nice to see that some people can afford the $100,000 that it takes to make a ring dike (at least, that's what it costs here in Manitoba where we're having our own record flood).
PopSci should do a story on the real man-made cause of these major floods; rapid drainage of farmland into the waterways. The whole agricultural system is focused around draining farmland as soon as you can after the spring thaw. Where does all the water go when everyone drains their fields into the river? Why, the fields down river of course! Naturally, there would be an inch of water on everyone's field for a few weeks until it dried up. Since we've started 'industrial farming' all of the farmers drain that water off into the river system so it can go somewhere else. Well, there's only so much water the river can take before it backs up (try having everyone in your city/town flush the toilet and see what happens).
Here is an ideal. Stop building homes in flood plains! If you must build them their, why not build them on concrete pylons 30ft in the air. Just saying.
If they are a farmer and they must leave in the flood plane ok ok. I am support of farmers and we all gotta eat. The flood planes get furtilize each wonderful by the flood. It just makes good sense to farm there. But its been flooding there in history for ever. I am very sure there there is a clear and definable history of the floods. I inmagine the farmer knew the flood was coming and took his big tracker, but a hole or pond and built the levy. Great idea. I applaud him for his effort. I do not want anything bad to happen to these farmes, people, homes. They are in my prayers. Here is my suggestion. We all know its going to flood again and again. So after the flood, take your tracker and any insurance money you collect, fill in the donut levy you made and made a small hill or mountain. Build you new how on top of this. You know where the flood lines are now. Of course my hind sight is so simple. I am not there. I like to say once again to all in the floods, you are yours are in my prayers.
Speaking of hindsight. I wish at times my grammar and spelling was better, lol.
yeah I have to agree with bubba gump. 90% of the world lives withing 100 miles of the ocean. 9% live near rivers and other bodies of water that often are or create flood plains. the other 1% are everywhere else.
WATER has always been the center of life.
It is REALLY EASY to say: "well, dont live in Tornado Ally.
Dont live in the Ring Of Fire. Dont live near a Flood Plain. Dont live where Hurricanes hit. etc etc"
I am sorry, but that is EVERYWHERE. even if you live somewhere like New York city that is not often prone to floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, volcanoes, or earthquakes, you have TERRORISTS.
its pretty short sited to say... dont live somewhere because of predestined dangers that may or not happen every 50 to 100 years (or 1000 years). You might build your house on 30 foot pillions doubling the cost of your house, and time it takes EVERY day to go up and down, for absolutely NOTHING.
look at all the nuclear bomb shelters built 50 years ago. can any one say HUGE WASTE OF MONEY. Then look at all the "earthquake proof" building that haven't survived earthquakes because the quake was .5 over the rictor scale that they were prepared for.
I don't think this flood and its damage is because of negligence on humans part. I think we have done our best, but unfortunately nature has bested us in some cases (but so far they have saved bigger cities like New Orleans from this current flood haven't they?)... its happens. we cant make the world nature proof.
@inaka_rob don't forget droughts ;) but i did find a chart somewhere (rather a collection of maps) that found a small area in the southwest of Texas there are no earthquakes, tornadoes, drought, flood etc... but since it is so close to the border they probably have to deal with mafias or something.
Along the length of the Mississippi River, I'm sure we can find a place where we could create a catch basin where excess water can flow into and spare the farmlands and towns. Just another brain typhoon.
I can see the city/county contacting the home owner informing them that their taxes have increased due to a status change of "lake front" or "island" property. Can you imagine someone calling a plumber and going "there seems to be a leak, how soon can you come out?" hehe
I think Inaka robbed himself.
Safe havens exist everywhere for those smart enough to do their homework.
won't all these fail unless the water retreats within a day or two?
I'm surprised noone mentioned bioswales, or Permaculture, (which is sustainable design: each piece interrelates with all other pieces for optimal long term results) benefitting both deserts and flood plains (any site, anywhere), to mitigate and work WITH nature's forces, rather than suffer the results of dysfunctional design. Permaculture works at any size - down to the tiniest residence and up to, well, sky's the limit. It works in any region.
Find many great youtube vids about permaculture to whet your appetite / show you how it works in the real world. Geoff Lawton is a good search term on youtube too for permie results. You should see his Greening the Desert video. If you're a fan of the environment, prepare to be inspired.
most of the houses in those pictures are nice...but the way the surrounding land looks gives me an indication of a property value drop in the next 4-5 months...
also, those houses look they belong in Beverly Hills...so if the owners are that rich, then surely they can afford to move somewhere else? say, Beverly Hills perhaps?