This spring, record breaking floodwaters along the Mississippi River caused massive damage in nine states, totaling over $25 billion dollars in damage (Watts, 2011). In most areas the floodwaters have receded, however there is concern that even a little rain could cause more flooding due to the already saturated land. As cities and towns are beginning the restoration process, one thing caused by the flooding waters cannot be restored. Pollutants’ such as nitrogen from fertilizer, due to this area
examples, I will talk about causes and consequences of flood using Mississippi River basin. The flood plain A river's flood plain is central to any discussion of floods. A broad, nearly flat landform consisting of stream-deposited sediment, the flood plain is inundated by flows in excess of channel capacity (that is, a flood). The flood plain is higher along the edge of the
experienced the worst flood in American history affecting ten states in the Upper Mississippi River basin. The flooding lasted from late spring to fall, killing fifty-two people and damaging a 100,000 homes and businesses. The cause of the flooding was a heavy winter with lots of snow and a spring season full of rain, which saturated the soil. Instead, of a hot summer, the rain kept coming and the Upper Mississippi River Basin received three and a half times its normal rain. Since it continuously
they do happen. A few weeks ago, Hurricane Harvey struck in Houston, Texas and caused serious havoc. Several scientists and weather meteorologists began to compare Hurricane Harvey to Hurricane Katrina, a hurricane 2005 that surrounded areas of Mississippi along with New Orleans. Harvey began in 2017 around the Houston area of Texas. Although, Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Harvey have a twelve-year time difference, they both have various similarities and differences. A major difference between
The Mississippi River, the third longest river in North America and one of the world’s major rivers in terms of habitat diversity, flows over 2,000 miles and passes through 10 different states in the United States. Even with its massive size, there has been an ongoing problem and scares that the Mississippi might be taken over by a river called the Atchafalaya. By being taken over, it is meant that the Mississippi wants to take a different, easier course to get to the Gulf of Mexico than it has in
various deltas in the New Orleans area (Dunbar, Britsch, 2008). The natural formation of these deltas produced coastal wetlands that represent 30% of coastal wetlands currently in the United States (Cigler, 2007). In addition to these wetlands, the Mississippi River was surrounded by substantial forest growth (Pabis, 1998). This natural habitat quickly transformed with the settlement of the French in 1699 in the New Orleans area (Van Heerden, 2007). Although approximately 7 feet below sea level, New
questions lingering as part of the aftermath. What caused the flooding in New Orleans to be so severe? What was the impact on the government’s response? How was the city/region changed since then? There had been many hurricanes that have occurred in the United States but, Hurricane Katrina was one of the deadliest hurricanes to ever hit. During this hurricane approximately 1,833 people died, due to flooding. Levees led to a heavy flooding, numerous people had been charged by the federal government
hurricanes, tornadoes, ice storms, heat waves, droughts, and flooding. In this paper the focus will be on flooding and its impacts on society including the economy, and ecology, as well as potential solutions. 2.0 Causes of Flooding Flooding is a very common natural disaster and has contributed to approximately 39% of worldwide natural disasters, as well as an estimated $397.3 billion worth of damage between 2000 and 2014. [1] Flooding can be caused by short-duration intense rainfall, excessive precipitation
the lower Mississippi River (LMR), but due to human interactions they have severely affected the ecological functions of the floodplains. By researching spatial analysis, this happens when a floodplain becomes isolated from the main stem of the river by constructing levees (in order to prevent major floods in populated neighborhoods) and changing landscapes (for example, bulldozing forests and paving over that land with concrete). The levees built by the federal government in the Mississippi River has
Hurricane Katrina was a storm that should not have caused as much damage as it did. Hurricane Katrina was category one when it made landfall in the state of Florida and was only a category three storm when it made landfall at the Louisiana-Mississippi border (Zimmerman). The weak infrastructure and physical characteristics of cities like New Orleans experience a much greater impact than would normally be expected with a category three hurricane. 1,833 people were killed, the majority of whom were