Mississippi Homeowners Build Their Own Dams (7 pics)

Well, I guess if you're going to build in a flood plane, it makes a lot of sense. I hope they have a lot of supplies because I don't see many boats.

It's probably a good indicator no one will ever buy your house when it's surrounded by a fucking dam taller than the house.

It's your own private Idaho.

You can take the water out around the house but you cant take the house away from the flood.

Well.... if you had enough money to buy that house and than build a 15 foot damn around it um.... why didnt you buy a house where it doesnt flood?? I wonder if they get a discount on there home owner insurance...

isnt better to put all that money and effort in moving to somewhere else?

Why people live in these places? I'd rather live in a safe place and oh well, less work for me

StaticX, agreed

Yes, Like a boss

i think its great. these people instead of getting out of their house to safety and to come back to ruin prefer to hole up and wait it out. if you can do it why not do it?

All good and well, but I wouldn't sleep soundly thinking the water slowly creeping over that wall and down the passage. . . yikes!

StaticX, m0ck0, TinklingMonkey...you do realize that these people did not build in what was considered a 'flood plane'. This is being called by many "The Flood of the Century". Most of these houses are in places that have never seen flood waters. And Jimmy Johnson, the dams were only recently built to protect the houses from the flood, so, after the water levels subside, the dirt "dams" will be removed and there will no longer be a 'fu***ng dam taller than the house'. So, that may help the resale value.

gncullum, 1) it is not the flood of the century. In the Mississippi river basis they are quite regular. In 1927, 1973, and 1983, and 1993 they had floods as bad or worse than today. The flood in 1927 caused more than a billion 1927 dollars in damage which was 1/3 of the US budget. 500,000 people were evacuted! The 1983 flood did 15.7 billiion 1983 dollars in damamge. The one in 1993, 50,000 homes were destroyed and cost 15 billion 1993 dollars in damage. Unless 500,000 people are evacuated and 50,000 homes are lost, this flood is no where near the flood of the century.

2) These are considered flood planes because the river is only held back by levees. In the natural course of events they would be flooded regulary. Judging from the regular diasasterous flooding, they are indeed flood planes. The reason most of these houses haven't been flooded is because they were built after 1993.

nice pics :P

gncullum - Wrong.

The Mississippi River will aways flood because it's not economically feasible to build levys 2000 miles long. When you hold back river flow, the water finds it's own level and floods elsewhere such as further upstream. It might have been feasible, if the US government, in it's infinite wisdom decided not to participate in three wars at the same time.

Water 20 feet high around your house should tell you those dams will never be removed because these are homes in the "sacrificial" flood zones.

well, I think on most years these areas are not flooding... and the reason many of them are there to begin with is because they are farming in the fertile plains near the river. Sombody's gotta farm so we can all stay fat!

shows what you can do for the things you love ,
but why build there in the first place ????????????????