This US heartland has been flooded for five months. Does anyone care?

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

This US heartland has been flooded for five months. Does anyone care?

About half a million acres of land in the rural Yazoo backwater area in Missisippi is underwater, a devastating blow for a poor region where agriculture is the economy’s lifeblood

by Rory Doyle
Sat 3 Aug 2019 07.00 BST

Dating back to late February, about 550,000 acres of land have been underwater in the rural Yazoo backwater area of the lower Mississippi delta. About half of the acreage is farmland, creating devastating effects in a region where agriculture is the lifeblood of the economy. While flooding in the region is common, this year’s floodwater has hung around longer than ever.

‘You do what has got to be done’

Carmen Hancock, James Hancock and Rodney Porter have spent the past five months helping their elderly neighbors survive in their homes surrounded by floodwater. “We’re living by the good Lord to do what’s right,” said James Hancock. “There’s a number of older people living in this neighborhood, and it’s just the right thing to do. When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. That’s what I live by. You do what has to be done.”

Compounding the problem was a high Mississippi River, which remained near or above flood stage for the longest span since 1927. The perfect storm of historic rainfall and a high river resulted in a backwater flood that has lingered beyond anything the region has ever seen.

Only within with the past couple weeks has the water receded, and for the first time in nearly half a year, farmers are finally beginning to see their land re-emerge.

Threat to wetlands and wildlife

Efforts to prevent flooding in this region date back to 1941 when Congress approved the Yazoo Backwater Project. The multifaceted plan included a system of levees, canals and drainage structures. But one crucial element was never installed – drainage pumps that would push floodwaters out of the backwater area and eventually into the Mississippi River. Due to construction delays, the pumps were never built, and in 2008, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) vetoed the pumps, citing a threat to wetlands and wildlife in this remote part of Mississippi.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/aug/03/yazoo-backwater-mississippi-flooding-months

[MacDombles]

1. Yes I care

Because I live in the heartland and people are going through some pretty tough times here.
I care alot actually.

[IndyOp]

3. Welcome to DU, MacDombles! (nt)

[MacDombles]

4. Thanks! Glad to be here

[IndyOp]

2. The pictures - and stories - are powerful. (nt)

[mountain grammy]

5. Heartbreaking, and it will only get worse

the idiots are in charge.

[bronxiteforever]

7. +1

[pangaia]

6. i always wondered why the middles of usa is called heartland.

if it must be a part of the human body, shouldn;t it be somethinhg like the stomach ?

[PatSeg]

8. Its pretty pathetic when a British newspaper

reports on a crisis in the U.S. that appears to be ignored by our own media.

[ffr]

11. +1

[IronLionZion]

12. I noticed that. Not much of this on the US sites

or any mention of the Trump administration's inaction.

[PatSeg]

14. There was a time when

this kind of crisis got wall-to-wall coverage. Now disasters are barely mentioned, but if Trump says something outrageous at a rally, it will dominate the news all day, maybe even several days.

Of course, Trump should be covered thoroughly. We should never let the horrible things he does or says go by without notice, but damn, there really are other important stories.

[ancianita]

9. Still flood water produces billions of mosquitoes, too. The apex predator is moving north into the

temperate zone of this continent, as climate change raises temperatures and flood waters.

[ffr]

10. The soil in the aftermath should be rich for next year's crops.

Floodplains are always some of the richest soils on Earth. It looks bad, but those waters are usually packed with nutrients that settle over the existing soil.

[Boomer]

13. Rich with toxins, too

As industrialization grows, so do the toxins and pollutants that are spread on the land when it floods.

[ffr]

15. Mmmmm, good.

Probably.