Floodwaters

A pleasant day on Thursday allowed Aaron and Jake to paddle 51 miles to mile marker 386 just North of Fort Madison Iowa.  They were able to stop in Keithsburg, Illinois for coffee and Burlington, Iowa for lunch.  Today the guys will meet the good people of Canton Missouri who are going to open their house to them.  Aaron and Jake will get to sleep in a bed, use indoor plumbing, get a nice meal and meet some new friends.

With all of the rain the midwest has gotten over the past few weeks the mighty Mississippi is starting to swell.  Since the Mississippi drains close to 1/2 of our country's water even rain that doesn't fall directly on the river will most likely end up in the river.  This swelling of the river will continue for several days and possibly weeks even if no more rain falls as the tributary creeks and rivers drain to the Mississippi.  In 1927 the river did much more than just swell ...

The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927


"Throughout the summer and fall of 1926 many places throughout the Midwest were inundated with consistent rainfall. On April 15, 1927, with many rivers already swollen to capacity, a storm lingered across the area that dumped 15 inches of water within 18 hours.

This rain caused the Mississippi River to burst through its’ levees in 145 places, and flooded over 27,000 square miles. The flood filled an area 50 miles wide and 100 miles long with water up to 30 feet deep. 246 people were killed throughout seven states. Of the ten states that were affected, Arkansas was the hardest hit with over 14% of it’s’ territory covered in flood water.

The Great Flood displaced over 700,000 people, including 330,000 African-Americans. Racial hostility had erupted during the six month displacement period. This resulted in tens of thousands of blacks moving to northern cities, and particularly Chicago. The flood was one of the main factors for the Great Migration of African-Americans to the north." (written by Aaron prior to departure)

Posted by Aaron's dad