The Major Impact Of The Mississippi River Flood Of 1927

The Mississippi River Flood of 1927 was one of the most devastating floods in the country. The flood had a major effect on the economy. Because of the flood, thousands of acres of agricultural land and animals were lost, many homes were destroyed, and people were displaced.

In August 1926, heavy rainstorms began to swell the streams in eastern Kansas, northwestern Iowa, and part of Illinois, which fed into the Mississippi River. In December of 1926, heavy rains filled the Arkansas and Red rivers. During that fall, record breaking amounts of rain continued to fall throughout the Mississippi River valley. By the end of January, the major feeding river, the Ohio River, was overflowing its banks. The Mississippi River swelled to 80 miles

With 30 feet of water covering the land, 18,268,780 acres were destroyed (Economic). 4,413,600 acres of this was agricultural land. In this part of the country, farming and agriculture was a big deal, so when some of the land and animals were lost the economy suffered. After the flood and disaster relief organizations came, it was estimated that only 20% of the farm land could be used that year (The Mississippi). With a loss of land and no need for companies, people lost their jobs. Since people lost their jobs, families began to struggle. 85% of land owners and farmers had no source of income, but still had to provide for their family, pay taxes, and pay the mortgage payment (The Mississippi).

Since there was hardly any usable land or animals and families had no money, food supplies were becoming limited. There was very little food being produced from the remaining animals because they could not get enough to eat to stay healthy. There also were no crops that could be harvested and eaten.

The water not only ruined the farm land, it ripped through thousands of houses. The flood drove out nearly 931,159 people from the area. It is estimated that 162,017 homes were lost. More than half a million of the people who lost their homes were African American (Bessie

The railroads and plantations that were affected by the flood feared that their laborers, who had lost everything, would not come back to work. To keep these laborers nearby, the railroads and plantations partnered with the American Red Cross to create refugee camps. These camps housed more than 200,000 African Americans. The camps varied in size and living conditions. They ranged from acceptable to horrible. The Final Report of the Colored Advisory Commission worked with the American Red Cross and the President’s Committee on Relief Work in the Mississippi Valley Flood Disaster of 1927 and noted "The camps in which we found the most satisfactory conditions were those where the local colored people have had an opportunity to assist in the administration of affairs. The camps which were found to be especially good were: Baton Rouge, Lafayette, and Natchez. . . In the camps at Greenville, Sicily Island and Opelousas, the colored people had practically no part in the activities of the colored refugees" (Bessie