"La. residents warned to leave; Cajun towns threatened as floodgates open" May 16, 2011|By Michael Kunzelman, Associated Press
KROTZ SPRINGS, La. — Deputies warned people yesterday to get out as Mississippi River water gushing from a floodgate for the first time in four decades crept ever closer to communities in Louisiana Cajun country, slowly filling a river basin like a giant bathtub.
Most residents heeded the warnings and headed for higher ground, even in places where there has not been so much as a trickle, hopeful that the flooding engineered to protect New Orleans and Baton Rouge would be merciful to their way of life.
Days ago, many of the towns known for their Cajun culture and drawling dialect fluttered with activity as people filled sandbags and cleared out belongings. By yesterday, some areas were virtually empty as the water from the Mississippi River, swollen by snowmelt and heavy rains, slowly rolled across the Atchafalaya River basin....
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"Obama visits Memphis flood victims, school" by Associated Press / May 17, 2011
MEMPHIS -- For the president, the trip was a chance to promote his education agenda while also attending to the latest natural disaster....
Sigh.
And then he had to jet to Boston for a fund-raiser.
What's the carbon footprint on that anyway?
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"For flood victims, monotony takes a heavy toll; Life in shelters becomes cruel waiting game" by Holbrook Mohr, Associated Press / May 19, 2011
VICKSBURG, Miss. — For thousands of people forced from their homes by the rising Mississippi River, life has become a tedious waiting game: waiting for meals at shelters, waiting for the latest word on their flooded homes, waiting for the river to fall.
The monotony of shelter life has taken a toll on victims who have already been displaced for weeks and may not be able to return for at least a month. The river is expected to crest today in Vicksburg, but high water might not retreat in some areas until late June....
Nearby, farmers received a bit of good news yesterday when officials said they don’t expect water to spill over the top of a closely watched levee protecting thousands of acres of crops. And cargo was moving slowly along the Mississippi after the Coast Guard reopened a key segment of the river north of New Orleans.
But those developments did nothing to help people whose homes are already underwater. And they have little to fill their days except worry and boredom....
I'm bored with the Boston Globe.
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