Reasons for the Floods
For numerous years, the Mississippi River has been prone to flooding incidences proved quite inconvenient for the local communities. The Mississippi region is characterized by lapses of extreme weather conditions responsible for the floods that occur along the Mississippi River. However, the floods of 2020 were extremely dangerous, and the situation can best be described as a catastrophe. The 5th of March marked the day when the Mississippi River rose to a height of 17.1 feet, and the national government officially recognized the flood in the river. The Mississippi River flooded because of consistent heavy rains that have been present lately. The particular region is prone to extreme weather conditions, such as the current floods (Maccherone, 2020). Furthermore, the snow present in the northern region increases the level of water that fills numerous river banks, hence the extremity of the current floods.
Victims of the Floods
The Mississippi River situation is detrimental for residents as some of them have been forced out of their homes because the current floods have destroyed them. The previous floods were not as serious as the current ones, so the locals never expected the flood to become as severe as it turned out. Otherwise, it would have been wiser to move from the area to lose their beloved homesteads to the floods (Brackett & Childs, 2020). In 2020 an aggregate of more than one thousand homesteads was destroyed by these floods. There were regular trips made using helicopters to search for the people left stranded without a place to seek refuge from the floods.
Actions made by local, state, and Federal Government to Mitigate the Impact caused by the Floods
The government ensures that its citizens can cope with the tough situation presented by floods. The government of the United States intervenes on all the available channels that include local channels, the state channel, and the federal government. The residents were encouraged to take ample photographs of their destroyed property and report to the necessary authorities for insurance claims. The local government is responsible for such utilities. Furthermore, such photos will help the government access the required government recovery funds and revamp the infrastructure. The more urgent need for government intervention was to request government assistance for all the residents of Mississippi located within the regions that are often most affected by floods (Holmes, 2020). For instance, the local government of Mississippi must liaise with the state government and use helicopters to look for people that may have been stuck in the floods.
Greatest Challenge Experienced by the local, state, and Federal Government
The greatest challenge that local government experiences when dealing with floods is insufficient resources (Mueller, 2020). The Mississippi river becomes flooded regularly, and the greatest burden lies on the local government. Unfortunately, the local government is not adequately equipped to deal with all the natural disasters that occur around the Mississippi River, and it has to communicate with the higher levels of government to access the necessary resources. The local government of Mississippi is in the best position to deal with any issues that emerge promptly, but the inadequacy of resources makes it difficult to manage the situation with the level of seriousness that the residents of Mississippi require.
References
Brackett, R., & Childs, J. (2020). Mississippi’s Pearl River Crests But Flooding Remains a Worry; Hundreds of Homes Already Damaged | The Weather Channel – Articles from The Weather Channel | weather.com. Web.
Holmes, R. (2020). The problem with solutions. Places Journal.
Maccherone, B. (2020). Winter Flooding on the Mississippi. Web.
Mueller, L. (2020). Conservation Groups Challenge Army Corps’ Mississippi River Plan. Web.