Chapter 23 Summary

Refugee camps, referred to at the time as 'concentration camps,' are established at appropriate places. They are generally designed to hold 10,000 people. Rain continues to fall. Several miles of the Bayou des Glaises levee fail. Approximately 105,000 people are evacuated. At Melville, the Atchafalaya River breaks through its levee system. At McCrea, 700 feet of levee fail. The final crevasse of the 1927 flood releases water rushing at 30 miles per hour.

June sees continued rain and a second flood crest moving down the Mississippi River. Many areas previously flooded in March and April again are inundated. The flood makes Hoover a national hero. Coolidge has done nothing, and does not visit the flooded areas though he is invited numerous times. Hoover is efficient, compassionate and effective. He also makes sure that national news knows of his successes. He gains the national spotlight and ensures a...