Photos show 'home islands' during 2011 Mississippi flooding

The Mississippi River floods of 2011 are counted among the calamitous ones with widespread damaging effects that might have caused losses in excess of $3 billion in seven states, while flooding over 3 million acres of farmland in three states. In terms of ‘forceful’ figures, the peak stream-flow at Vicksburg set a new record by discharging water at a rate of a whopping 2,310,000 cubic feet per second (65,000 cubic m/sec). However, in spite of these baleful numbers, there were many residents and volunteers who valiantly built dyke walls to protect themselves from the onslaught of rigorous water flow.

Most of these levees were constructed in a makeshift manner from layers of sand and earth – which led to the creation of poignant ‘home islands’. In some cases, more advanced methods were applied, like the use of specialized Hesco flood barriers that are tailored for emergency situations. As for their end-results, many of these dyke walls were successful in holding off the water level at least for a few days – which speaks volumes about the ingenuity and willpower of the inhabitants residing in such areas even after post-Hurricane Katrina.