Flood of 1927
The Mississippi 1927 flood began when heavy rains pounded the central basin of the Mississippi in the summer of 1926. By September, the Mississippi's tributaries in Kansas and Iowa were swollen to capacity. On New Year's Day of 1927, the Cumberland River at Nashville topped levees at 56.2 feet (17.1 m). The Mississippi River broke out of its levee system in 145 places and flooded 27,000 square miles (70,000 km2) or about 16,570,627 acres (67,058.95 km2). The area was inundated up to a depth of 30 feet (9.1 m). The flood caused over $400 million in damages and killed 246 people in seven states. The flood affected Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee. Arkansas was hardest hit, with 14% of its territory covered by floodwaters. By May 1927, the Mississippi River below Memphis, Tennessee, reached a width of 60 mi (97 km).
Read more about this topic: Steamboats Of The Mississippi
Famous quotes containing the words flood of and/or flood:
“The vines of her arms
didn’t cling to the ends of his clothes,
or did she plant herself in the doorway,
hurl herself at his feet,
or utter the word “Stay!”
But as that fool began to go
at the time when it was dark with swarming clouds,
the slim girl blocked her lover’s way
with only a rising river
made with her flood of tears.”
—Amaru (c. seventh century A.D.)
“Hearing the low sound
of a cloud scattering rain
at midnight
and thinking for an eternity
on his absent young wife,
a traveller heaved a sigh
and with a flood of tears
howled the whole night long.
Now, villagers won’t let him stay
in their place anymore.”
—Amaru (c. seventh century A.D.)