The Great Flood of 1927 set high marks that may be broken this month as an enormous amount of water makes its way down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico.
But the mighty Mississippi is better controlled now -- with levees, reservoirs and gates, engineers say -- a control that dates back to the aftermath of that landmark flood that changed not only the landscape, but also politics and the people of the land. Handling of the disaster helped put Herbert Hoover in the White House. And some say later dissatisfaction at the refugee camps helped vote him out. It inspired a novel by William Faulkner and countless documentation.
Generations in Mississippi and Louisiana today refer back to it, though few are alive who saw it.
Read the full story at sunherald.com.
Comments