THIS RIVER HERE IN MISSISSIPPI AND WE LEARNED FIRST-HAND JUST
HOW CONNECTED PEOPLES LIVES ARE
TO THE FATE OF THE MIGHTY
MISSISSIPPI RIVER.
MISSISSIPPI RIVER. THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER IS A
SOURCE OF LIFE, COMMERCE AND
RE-CREATION FOR MANY PEOPLE.
FED BY WATERWAYS IN 31 STATES
THAT ENCOMPASS 41% OF THE
COUNTRY.
COUNTRY. BUT THIS YEAR MANY COMMUNITIES
WERE HIT WITH UNPRECEDENTED
RAINFALL IN MISSISSIPPI’S
NAMESAKE STATE SWAMPING CITIES
LIKE GREENVILLE WITH THE WORST
FLOOD IN NEARLY A CENTURY.
THE MAYOR SAID IT’S REMINISCE
WANT OF THE MOST DEVASTATING
FLOOD IN MISSISSIPPI HISTORY.
>> IT BRINGS ME BACK TO THE 1927
FLOOD.
FLOOD. WHEN THE FLOOD CAME IT WAS POOR
FOLKS AND BLACK FOLKS WHO WERE
LEFT AND DISPLACED FOR DAYS AND
FOR MONTHS.
FOR MONTHS. AND NOW WE HAVE THE FLOOD OF
2019, HERE I AM AS A BLACK MAYOR
BUT I CAN SEE THE EFFECT THAT
IT’S HAVING ON POOR FOLKS AND
BLACK FOLKS.
BLACK FOLKS. COMMUNITIES LIKE THIS HAVE BEEN
HISTORICALLY NEGLECTED.
HISTORICALLY NEGLECTED. AND THEN WHEN YOU HAVE HIGH
FLOOD EVENTS LIKE THIS, THEY GET
HIT HARD.
HIT HARD. SO WHEN IT RAINS AROUND THE
COUNTRY, IT POURS HERE.
>> Reporter: IT WASN’T JUST THE
CITIES THAT FLOODED, HUNDREDS OF
THOUSANDS OF ACHEERIZE OF FARM
LPDFARM
LPDFARM LAND IN THE MISSISSIPPI DELTA
WERE FLOODED.
WERE FLOODED. >> THIS HAS PROBABLY BEEN THE
WORST ONE I’VE HAD IN MY 31
YEARS OF FARMING.
AND THIS HAS BEEN THE WORST.
>> Reporter: DOES IT GIVE YOU
CONCERN WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN NEXT
YEAR OR THE YEAR AFTER THAT?
>> I WISH I WAS OLD ENOUGH FOR
RETIREMENT.
RETIREMENT. >> Reporter: NORMALLY WHEN THE
MISSISSIPPI RIVER FLOODS THE
ARMY CORP OF?
GEN EARS TRIES TO PROTECT
SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES BY
REDIRECTING EXCESS WATER THROUGH
SPILL WAYS.
SPILL WAYS. BUT THIS YEAR THE WATER WAS SO
SWOLLEN THAT THE CORPS OPENED
THE LOUISIANA SPILLWAY FOR
LONGER THAN IT EVER HAD, DUMPING
AN ESTIMATED 10 TRILLION GALLONS
OF WATER INCREASING THE LAKE’S
WATER VOLUME SEVEN FOLD.
ALL OF THAT WATER ENDED UP OFF
THE MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST,
CAUSING EXTRAORDINARY HARM TO
MARINE LIFE.
MARINE LIFE. >> WE’VE HAD THE LARGEST NUMBER
OF DOLPHINS DIE SINCE THE BP OIL
SPILL, AND ABOUT 195 SEA TURTLES
WHICH ARE THE MOST ENDANGERED IN
THE WORLD.
THE WORLD. >> Reporter: WHAT’S KILLING THE
DOLPHINS?
DOLPHINS? >> THE PRIMARY FACTOR IS THE
RIVER WATER COMING THROUGH THE
SPILLWAY.
SPILLWAY. IT HAS MUD, CLAY, INSECTICIDES,
PESTICIDES, FERTILIZERS WHICH
CREATES TOXIC ALGAE BLOOMS AND
WE’VE SEEN BASICALLY AN AQUATIC
HURRICANE.
HURRICANE. WE’VE SEEN MANY ANIMALS WITH
FRESH-WATER LEGIONS.
FRESH-WATER LEGIONS. THESE ARE SALTWATER ANIMALS THAT
ARE EXPOSED FOR A PROLONGED
PERIOD OF TIME TO FRESH-WATER.
AND THOSE LEGIONS BECOME SORES
AND THE BACTERIA ENTERS INTO IT.
>> Reporter: THIS IS THE NEW
NORMAL.
NORMAL. MORE RAIN, MORE FLOODING, MORE
DAMAGE TO COMMUNITIES ACROSS
MISSISSIPPI.
MISSISSIPPI. AND THOSE WHOSE LIVES ARE ROOTED
BY THE WATER WILL HAVE TO
PREPARE FOR WHAT COMES NEXT.
>> WE’VE HAD HURRICANES.
KATRINA OBVIOUSLY WAS ONE OF THE
WORST.
WORST. BUT I HAVE NEVER SEEN A
SITUATION WHERE ONE EVENT WOULD
TOTALLY WIPEOUT THE SEAFOOD
INDUSTRY AND THE TOURISM
INDUSTRY.
INDUSTRY. THERE’S A GOVERNORS RACE ON
RIGHT NOW AND THE TWO GUYS
RUNNING FOR GOVERNOR ARE
CLAIMING THEY’RE GOING TO HELP
OUT, BUT YOU’LL HEAR THE WORD
CLIMATE CHANGE IN THERE AND
THEY’RE ON THEIR PLATFORM IN
MISSISSIPPI.
MISSISSIPPI. ELECTED OFFICIALS ARE SO AFRAID
THEY’RE GOING TO LOSE THEIR
VOTER BASE IF THEY EVEN MENTION
THE WORD -- CAN’T EVEN SAY THE
WORD CLIMATE CHANGE.
>> Reporter: WHILE MANY
POLITICIANS ARE RELUCTANT TO
FACE THE ISSUE OF CLIMATE CHANGE
HEAD ON, PEOPLE HERE ON THIS
RIVER WHOSE LIVES ARE ROOTED
HERE SAY THEY THINK ABOUT THEIR
FUTURES AND WHAT WILL BE LEFT
FOR THEIR CHILDREN, AND MOST OF
ALL, CHRIS, THEY WANT THIS ISSUE
TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY BEFORE
IT’S TOO LATE.
>> THAT WAS AN INCREDIBLE
REPORT.
REPORT. I’M CURIOUS ON THE FOLKS YOU
TALKED TO HOW THEY’RE CURIOUS
ABOUT THEIR FUTURE THERE, IF
THEY THINK THERE’S A FUTURE
THERE.
THERE. PEOPLE OBVIOUSLY HAVE BEEN
LIVING WITH THE WATER ON THE
DELTA.
DELTA. OBVIOUSLY THINGS ARE GETTING
WORSE DOWN THERE.
HOW DO THEY THINK ABOUT WHETHER
THEY CAN STAY?
>> I’VE TALKED TO A NUMBER OF
PEOPLE, THE STEAM BOAT CAPTAIN,
A NUMBER OF FARMERS GENERATIONS
INTO THIS LIFESTYLE AND THIS
LIVELIHOOD.
LIVELIHOOD. AND THEY SAY THEY’RE NOT URGING
THEIR SONS OR DAUGHTERS TO GO
INTO THIS BUSINESS.
IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT MONEY OR
BUSINESS, IT’S ABOUT THEIR
LIVELIHOODS AND THEIR
TRADITIONS.
TRADITIONS. BUT WHERE THEY LIVE, THE DELTA,
THE MISSISSIPPI DELTA IN
PARTICULAR, THE LAND IS SO RICH
AND FERTILE BUT IT IS A FORMER
WETLAND.
WETLAND. CONSERVATIONISTS SAY IN ORDER TO
RESTORE WHAT HAS BEEN LOST WE
NEED TO RESTORE THE WET LPDS.
NOW THEY’RE JUST HOPING
SOMETHING WILL DISRUPT THE
CURRENT COURSE OF THINGS, CHRIS.