America seems to have been besieged by natural disasters this year, not that it is unique to 2011, but between the horrible tornadoes that hit Alabama and numerous other states in April, and the emerging Mississippi River Flood affecting many states right now, it reminds one of the natural disasters of the 1920s and 1930s!
In 1927, we witnessed the worst Mississippi River Floods ever, at least to now, with the possibility that we might see a worst disaster in the making as the author writes!
Back then, Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover, the winning candidate the following year for President, gained a great reputation for his efforts to help those in distress, even though he seemed inept to deal with the Great Depression which followed.
And on this day in 1934, a massive storm sent millions of tons of topsoil from the Great Plains eastward, affecting New York City, Boston, and Atlanta. This was the time of the Dust Bowl, which sent many farmers from the Great Plains out west to California and other western states in desperation.
Franklin D. Roosevelt took action to deal with the Dust Bowl, with federal regulation of conditions of growing crops and helping farmers in other programs under the Agricultural Adjustment Administration.
With recognition that hurricanes, earthquakes, and fires can also do tremendous destruction, and have in the recent past in this country, it makes trying to cut the deficit in the budget and deal with the national debt all that much more challenging!