Flooding In Memphis

            Summary:

Today, May 10, 2011, Mississippi River flooded neighborhoods, but didn’t break any flooding records. It was nearly a foot less than the record crest of 48.7 feet in 1937. Today, the river crested at 47.8 feet, nearly four inches lower than the predicted 48 feet. It is expected that the river crest will stay at or near that level for a couple of days before receding down the river.

Officials urged the resident to keep their distance from the river crest until it recedes. Even though the Army Corps. Of Engineers say the levees are holding the flood waters; the concern of flooding is in creeks and tributaries. These areas are filled with backwater that is moving through suburbs and mobile home parks in Memphis. Emergency officials predicted that about three thousand properties were most likely to be affected by the flood water; but if the river rises a couple of feet, more than two thousand more could be affected by the flood water.

Even in Tiptonville, Tennessee, they are awaiting the flood water to come down just a little closer so they can check the predicted seventy-five damaged homes. In Arkansas, 16 towns have been affected by flooding. All of this flooding could have been caused by a decrease tree population or an increase rainfall by global warming.

Commentary:

This issue matters because hundreds of people our being affected by it. Homes are damaged; people’s lives are being hurt by the flooding of the Mississippi River. Even peoples pets have been found around the flood water. This isn’t just another ordinary yearly flood, it’s a disaster zone.

What I have learned from this article is that we could be more prepared for these severe floods; we don’t want to have another Katrina, even though that was a hurricane. We need to build more efficient defenses to help against the rapid flood waters, such as more sandbags, shelters, or higher flood walls. This could really help us in the near future.

Other information that I have read in my AP environmental science class backs up some of the information I have stated. Global warming could have been a factor in the flooding of Mississippi. Global warming heats up the earth, and this causing more evaporation, this means that there will be more precipitation. This also means more hurricanes and more severe storms.

This article made me question if what we have been putting in to the atmosphere has been affecting the atmosphere more than we thought originally. This also made me question the theory of the Mayans prediction of the end of the world. Maybe they were onto something.

What’s Next?

Research will need to be constructed to understand why this was so severe in the first place. We have to understand the planet we live on. This might have happened for a reason, but who knows? Maybe it was just another random storm striking again.

Even if more information about flood safety could be helpful to the public .Normally people ignore that kind of information, but maybe people will actually read or listen to the information after all this happened. This could be a warning sign for the future.

Citations:

Judith Tacket and Campbell Robertson (2011, May 1). Mississippi River Crests in Memphis. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/11/us/11river.html?_r=2&hp