US farmers lose battle to keep Mississippi floodbank

Since Monday, US forces have exploded three floodbanks (levees) along the banks of the Mississippi River in Missouri, flooding over 50,000ha of farmland in order to reduce the risk of towns being flooded. The blasts effectively divert the river some 35 miles across farmland before rejoining the river.

US government have purposefully created a "disaster zone", for which the affected people with receive federal compensation from the "disaster zone" pot of cash.

The public however aren't all sympathetic. One comment on a news site that I read stated: "They're all losers and shouldn't receive any money as compensation". Thankfully this was one comment of five, where the others chastised this person for their thoughtless comments. So sanity rules to a fair degree.