Environmental Damage
The Environmental Damage
The Mississippi Valley is home to a wide array of flora and fauna. As a result of the flooding, animals were displaced, drowned, or starved from lack of habitat, shelter, and food.
In addition. the flooding caused massive amounts of chemicals, fuel, and other hazardous materials to be swept down the Mississippi River.
According to marine scientists supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, it is expected that significant numbers of bottom-dwelling fish and other marine life will be killed this summer due to the rise in nutrient runoff from the Mississippi floods. Scientists estimate that this year’s “Dead Zone” at the mouth of the Mississippi River in the Gulf of Mexico will be record-setting.
This year’s forecast estimates that the size of the low-oxygen or hypoxic region in the Gulf will reach up to 9,421 square miles, the size of New Jersey and Delaware combined. City-sized portions of this region could see oxygen levels in the water column dropping to zero.
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Diesel, gas and other petroleum products washed into the river
Gas and water don’t mix
Thousands of gallons of diesel, gas, lubricants and other petroleum products were washed away from farms, businesses and homes. Injected into …
Pesticides washed into the river system
Unknown amount of pesticides washed away
Many farmers did not have time to safely remove pesticides from farmland located near floodways. Thousands of empty pesticide containers …
Trees and plants
Many trees and plants were destroyed during the flood
Trees near the areas where levees were breached were washed away and native plants were completely buried …
Mammals and birds
The ecosystem will never be the same.
A large number of deer and other ground-dwelling mammals drowned or starved from lack of food sources during the …
Aquatic Life
Damage to aquatic life
Many dead fish, turtles and other native aquatic life did not survive because they couldn’t return to their natural habitat as the …
