Miss. town could be wiped off map by flood

On the bloated Mississippi River, the unincorporated town of Tunica Cutoff, Miss., sits an hour's drive south of Memphis. There was a sense of relief after the river crested in the music city Monday, but it next took aim at the fertile Mississippi Delta -- leaving Tunica Cutoff residents wondering if they'll have a community to return to when the water recedes.

CBS News correspondent Mark Strassmann reports that there are about 300 homes in Tunica Cutoff, and they have all been flooded.

Other swamped communities may rebuild, but Tunica Cutoff may not. New housing codes mandate raising new homes above the 100-year flood plain. Most victims in Tunica had no flood insurance, and couldn't afford raising their homes. So here's their worry: Tunica Cutoff could be gone for good, flooded into history.

Swollen Mississippi set to inundate the Delta
Pictures: Mississippi flooding

Tunica County, which contains the unincorporated Tunica Cutoff community, has little more than 10,000 residents, and a median family income of around $30,000, about half the national average, according to Census estimates. It is also about 70 percent black, whereas the national average is around 12 percent.

Tunica Cutoff resident Jimmy Mitchell, 46, and his wife and two children have been living in a loaned camper for more than week at a civic arena in Tunica, the Associated Press reports.

"There's no sewage hookup. You go in a barn to take a shower," Mitchell told the AP. "We have no time frame on how long we can stay."

As Mitchell and friends sat outside chatting in the breeze, children rode bikes nearby.

"Cutoff is a community where everybody lives from paycheck to paycheck. It's also a community where everybody sticks together," Mitchell said.

On Tuesday evening, nearly 200 Tunica Cutoff residents filled a civic center in Tunica city, demanding answers from officials on whether or not they would ever be allowed home, the Memphis Commercial Appeal reports.

Pepper Bradford, the Tunica County planner and flood plan administrator, told residents that those "whose homes are determined to be substantially damaged will have to comply with current elevated building codes if or when they are rebuilt, but residents will be allowed to return if they comply," the Appeal reports.

Bradford said many Tunica Cutoff homes were built before current flood maps and elevation codes were made standard. For a largely poor area, the cost of rebuilding to higher, tougher standard will be daunting. Meanwhile, residents must wait for the water to recede before even beginning the planning process.

[elcurto]

So much misinformation thrown out there by the news media. Here are the facts. Tunica Cut Off is a lake created when, in the 1940s, the USACE "cut off" an oxbow curve of the river to make it somewhat straighter. Tunica was not the only place this done. Over time, this former section of the MS river became a very prolific fishing lake. People built fish camps. Mine was built in 1959. Tunica CutOff is not a town, it is a lake that has a series of four fish camps containing fishing/hunting/weekend cabins (that have somehow over time become homes). There are also several deer camps on the island and further down the lake. It was never meant to be a place of permanent residence. We've had water over 40' on the Memphis gauge at least 4 times since 1973, this year it happened to go to 47. Nothing new, it's a fish camp between the levees, what the hell you think is gonna happen? And as to the racial aspect some have tried to bring up, NOPE. The camps are generally rednecks like me. Some are millionaires, some are white collar, some are blue collar, some are self-employed, some are retired, and some are poor like me, a mixed bag. But no resident is black, or ever has been. Black folks fish the lake like everyone else, but in going down there for over 40 years I've never known a black person to live there. Gee, until the 1990's law enforcement (other than game wardens)never even crossed the levee unless there was a drowning or a killing. Why would black folks want to subject themselves to that environment? In the 1990s the casinos began to be built, causing a change in the inhabitants of the CutOff camps. More permanent residents, more retirees, more folks from somewhere else that didn't really know what they were getting themselves into. Since they never saw high water, they didn't think it would happen. Then the county further made it easier to live there by putting in city water and sewer systems. Again, it's west of the mainline levee, what do you think is gonna happen? Why is that levee there? I'm sorry for all of my neighbors down in Tunicaland. It was a great place to grow up fishing and hunting, a great place to hang out on holidays and weekends, boat riding and beer drinking. But our camp is totaled, water was over the roof. But you see, I always knew, since the age of 9, what side of the levee that camp was on. so I always purchased a very inexpensive flood insurance policy.

[dennisall77]

How is all that global warming denial stuff working out for ya? Warmer earth (a fact) means more ocean evaporation (a fact) means more moisture in atmosphere (a fact) means Jet Stream working harder to keep earth evened out in temp and humidity (a fact) means more intense, wider ranging systems (a fact) means more rain, snow, hail, drought, insect infestations, allergy problems due to more weeds from rains and longer growing seasons at higher altitudes. Add to that the plate movements due to increased oceanic pressure from melting glaciers and ice caps, and less surface pressure due to melthing glaciers and you get tsunamis and earthquakes a la Japan. We are not paying higher energy prices due to congressional slugs, but we are paying so much more in so many other ways, including lives. We simply have to stop the CO2 pollution or this earth will become unliveable.

[carolo43]

Sorry carol444 but you do not put homes, stores, schools and roads ahead of grazing land and fields. The government will help with lost crops but can not restore lives.

People who remove wet lands and think levees are the answer should have their brains checked. Water will also flow in the direction of lower ground and no levee can stop Mother Nature for long. Thousands of other homes was affected by levees falling just a year ago in other areas of the Mississippi.

[noloyalisti]

You fools, everyone knows that gravity is just a theory too. It was started and is being promoted by airline corporations who want you to think you need them to fly.

The models for the well documented man made global climate change that we are experiencing predict more flood, fires, hurricanes, tornadoes and droughts. We better stop listening to the idiot Republicon politicians who are only working for their greedy corporate masters.

[tfl16]

The last time we had a La Nina event was 16 years ago. A lot of people are not familiar with this sort of weather. Calling it evidence of global warming is a major stretch that defies logic. Global warming is still just a theory, with many holes and insignificant factual data to support it. Man-made Global Warming is purely junk science puppeted by politicians. The leaked emails from the University of East Anglia last year should have proved that to everyone.

Each state pays into the disaster relief fund. Mississippi and Texas are both contributors. Withholding this money from them in a time of need is irresponsible of our federal government. But judging from past events, it is entirely expected behavior from this administration. They have set the standard as being the most childish, irresponsible people. I am not surprised and i continue to remain disappointed with Obama.

[dennisall77]

post your credentials for you to able to dispute the 99.9% of scientists who say global warming is a fact. When u deny global warming, you are doing so because of misinformation distributed by energy corp lobbyists to protect the billions being made from co2 polluting fossil fuels. Get your head on str8 and read the science (of course, scientists know nothing, you will say, as u type on a device created by scientists)

[noloyalisti]

OMG Carol, please go to your analyst (educated by government funding of public education) as soon as you can.

This is just business as usual in the century of the man made global climate change catastrophe.

Of course it does not help that the inbred (I mean red) states don't care about the benefits of science and government. So let them swim on their own since they don't need government to help.

[AnnieDanny]

We've been building things where they shouldn't be built. Flood plains is not a good place to build. Eventually it's going to get flooded, it's a flood plain.

They made such a big deal out of New Orleans and Katrina... which there's no dobut was a dreadful disaster but I think Gulfport got overlooked because of it and Gulfport is the place that actually took the eye of the storm, and they're STILL repairing things because of it but they got very little sympathy. Katrina simply means: New Orleans. Which I think is a disservice to all the other people who got destroyed by Katrina and four or five other terrible hurricanes that year, including Wilma which was actually the most powerful storm of that season but no one took any notice of it except for the people who actually got hit by Wilma (south Florida.)

Everybody knew for years and years that it could happen to New Orleans if the **** failed, so why did they build there? And they knew the **** was barely adequate, but now they've REBUILT there? And they're spending zillions of dollars to bring the **** up to snuff? The Japanese had their amazing billion dollar **** and it didn't do them any good when they really needed it, either.

And NOW they had to blow up some levees in order to save what they've rebuilt in New Orleans where it's lower than sea level? Is that why they had to blow the levees, to save New Orleans? Again? Which means their **** was inadequate? Again??

I don't understand why this place in New Orleans is worth this much money. Seems as if we're literally pouring money down the drain to keep it alive. I don't get it.

[AnnieDanny]

Apparently seawalls are bleeped out if you spell them differently.

[EGSOMES1]

Thank God I'm not the only one who believes as you do. The Mississippi River will NEVER be controlled for long and these below sea level places, especially New Orleans, will flood again and again. Why do we waste money rebuilding these things? We really are an arrogant bunch of beings.

It is truly sad that some people have been displaced in efforts to save 'selected' cities. Abandon New Orleans already! To throw money at this problem is stupid and wasteful. Let the Mississippi River go where it needs to go, it's going to do that eventually anyhow. Any fool knows that.

[dtroppy]

Mississippi cried earlier over the stimulant a while back, saying no to the federal government and I would bet anything they are changing their tones... What the Republican's fail to realize is that government has it's place...
www.thethrifters.net

[unitedwestand101]

YES! discussthis has it pretty much nailed!
HAARP brought about the 'unusually severe' weather...as it has worldwide...the knuckle-dragging puppet in the 'People's House' is merely carrying out orders from his handlers.

The price of food WILL increase drastically. 'Imminent' Domain by the Feds. Police state! WAKE UP AMERICA!

Protect yourself and your loved ones. Be AWARE or BEWARE!


Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/8601-201_162-20061955.html?assetTypeId=30&blogId=&tag=contentBody;commentWrapper#ixzz1M9xvnBBL

[carol444]

The Feds and Corps of Engineers responsible for deliberately blowing 3 levees to SAVE the town of Cairo, IL (with 1,000 people) should be SHOT!

THIS WAS DELIBERATE, probably to soften the soil for a HAARP-created New Madrid Earthquake false flag attack on America next month. (The MSM keeps touting threats from Bin Laden despite his being DEAD AS A DOORNAIL SINCE 2001). The Rockefellers threatened another false flag attack on America via a New Madrid earthquake along the Mississippi from Memphis to St. Louis in June (see Benjamin Fulford blog).

Dr. Steve Pieczenik: The Psychological Resurrection of Osama Bin Laden 1/2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d679JVfRcOM

FEMA has also planned a New Madrid "exercise" starting May 15. Every time there's a nationwide "so-called exercise" like this, there's a catastrophe (think 911 and the Canada-America military exercises). Convenient, isn't it. BTW, FEMA has ordered millions of underwater body bags and MREs "specifically" for a New Madrid earthquake to be delivered immediately, and received in Louisiana.