The Morganza Spillway was all over the front pages this weekend. You probably saw a picture of it — the big wall of the levee with its gates open, spewing muddy Mississippi water at thousands of cubic feet per minute. The decision to open those floodgates has diverted the surge of the Mississippi, and probably saved Baton Rouge and New Orleans from flooding. But all that water has to go somewhere, and salvation downriver came at the expense of folks upriver. When the gates were opened, it set into motion a slow moving disaster; one that’s arriving in the homes of the Cajun communities in the Atchafalaya Basin. Kim Severson, reporter for our partner The New York Times has been covering the flood. Rusty Goulas, who lives near the flood line in Breaux says he is not evacuating his home and doesn’t fear the two feet of flooding he thinks will come up into his yard.
The story you just read is available for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
Make a gift today, and you’ll get us one step closer to our goal of raising $25,000 by June 14. We need your help now more than ever!