| Description: |
Interviews with flood victims, relief workers, ministers, farmers, farm workers, small-business owners, environmental monitors, and political leaders in eastern North Carolina about the devastating flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Floyd. In the fall of 1999, soon after the flood, the Southern Oral History Program set out to document the catastrophe as part of its Listening for a Change initiative. Accompanied by photographer Rob Amberg, project coordinator Charlie Thompson led the effort to assess the environmental, political, and economic consequences of the disaster, as well as its impact on individual lives. Many broad themes emerged from Thompson's interviews: the sweeping toll of the flood on human lives; the disruptions to community and sense of place; the character of political response to the disaster at local, state, and national levels; public health and environmental issues arising from the flooding; the effect of the disaster on the region's most vulnerable residents, including children, the elderly, and lower-income families; and the experiences of relief workers. |
