A vacant lot where, until recently, residences stood as a levee stands and Mississippi River flows past in the distance Thursday, May 23, 2024, in Cairo, Ill. Devastating flooding, driven in part by climate change, is taking an especially damaging toll on communities that once thrived along the banks of the river. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
WEST ALTON, Mo. (AP) — Commerce along the Mississippi River has evolved over the past century at the expense of many once-thriving river towns. But persistent and sometimes devastating flooding has added to the woes of some of those towns.
