Disaster has hit the cities surrounding the Mississippi River. Entire plains under water, houses flooded, and crops destroyed. This doesn't just affect these cities, but all of us. The lack of crops has increased food prices a noticeable amount, and worries about a similar disaster in other areas arise. But what about the flooded areas? St. Louis has become one of those flood plains, and its citizens are wondering what to do once the water goes down.

Something needs to change. That's become clear from all the disasters that have happened. The problem with the Mississippi River is that there isn't enough room for it to flow, especially when heavy rainfall happens all at once (which has been the cause of recent flooding).

Years ago, the vast River was a lot wider than it is nowour solutions lately have been to build more levees and constrict the river further, which may be the wrong pathway to take. Even though floodings have happened in the past, we don't seem to learn each time they occur. We're too busy needing space for our houses, buildings, malls, and trash dumps to take into account what Mother Nature wants.

The Mississippi River needs more space. Unfortunately with the ever-increasing population, mankind requires more space as well. Building right next to the rivers, trying to make it accommodate us, has brought on disasters. It's time to back off and give the river what it needs. Instead of making the walls higher, St. Louis should try making the river wider to keep in excess water that comes down during heavy rains.

If the river stays the same, these floods will continue to occur and continue to devastate the lives of citizens who are affected by it. Those who came home to water damaged houses are affected the most, especially those without flood insurance. When flooding like this happens out of the blue, more families are caught off guard and find themselves in a serious position when their house does get flooded.

Though it is recommended that everyone in a high-risk area obtain flood insurance, some St. Louis citizens are still left without it after the recent flooding. Depending on the damage, these homes could need thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of work, just to get the home back in working order. Without flood insurance, these families are forced to figure out how to afford all the costs.

Without flood insurance, the options are more limited. Some government aid might be available,

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