Text A: Personal Letter (1927)

Dear Cousin, the water came so fast we had no time to save anything but ourselves. We climbed to the rooftop and waited two days for the boats. I have never been so frightened, nor so grateful, as when I saw that little rescue skiff round the bend. We lost the house, but we are alive, and for now that is enough.

Text B: History Text

The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 was one of the most destructive river floods in American history. The river broke through levees in numerous places, inundating millions of acres across several states and displacing hundreds of thousands of people. The disaster reshaped national flood-control policy and prompted the construction of an extensive levee and spillway system.