Commerce along the Mississippi River has evolved over the past century at the expense of many once-thriving river towns. But persistent and sometimes devastating flooding has added to the woes of some of those towns. An examination of data provided to The Associated Press found that flooding pushed people out of their homes along the river at a roughly 30% higher rate than the U.S. as a whole.
It had almost 4,000 people in 1970, but major floods in 1973, 1993 and 2019 have left it with fewer than 400. All three of its churches are gone, and many of the homes still there had to be elevated to stay above future floods. Mayor Willie Richter said some people just walk away from their homes. He said he probably would have left if he didn't have such strong community connections. Sugar Vanburen lost her home in the '93 flood.