I remember working floods on the Mississippi (Upper River) when it was in flood. And I remember the damfools who wanted to drive in and "see the flood." With the levees shaking like jello when you walked on them, these people felt that of course it was safe! That's why we had roadblocks out, because it was safe and we only wanted to frustrate them!

And then...six kids, and I mean about 12 to 14 years old, came up from BEHIND the roadblock. From the river side. And they started giving us a hard time. Turns out that they'd floated down a swollen creek in a metal concrete-mixing trough!! It was their "boat" and they had tied it up against the levee. We told them that we weren't going to let them use it, but they became QUITE belligerent. And then a civilian member of the Corps of Engineer strolled up and asked what the problem was. We told him, and the kids told him about their boat. He walked up to the bank and took a look. He told them what we had: they weren't going anywhere in it anymore. Belligerency! And he quietly pulled out a .357 Magnum, fired six rounds into the bottom, and sank it. Then he walked over to us and said, "I'll radio the police and their parents can come pick them up."

He was carrying the revolver because people aren't the only things that are driven from their homes by a flood. Rattlesnakes, water moccasins, skunks, and other critters can be VERY annoyed by the loss of their dens and they have and will attack people. If you ARE in a flooded area please be careful of wildlife!