Rising from a stage of 30 feet at Memphis on January 14. the Mississippi River crested there on February 9. at 50.4 feet. or 3.8 feet above any previous record. and rose to within 1.6 feet of the top of the North Memphis levee. Fortunately. the high bluff protected the major portions of the city from danger. but the lowlands on Wolf River and Nonconnah River were submerged by backwaters from the Mississippi River. The crest remained at Memphis for 3 days and slowly receded. leaving in Its wake the correspondingly serious problem of cleaning the inundated areas. and returning the bewildered refugees and victims to their homes. Many had lost everything in the flood. Clothes were supplied. sufficient food provided. and transportation was furnished wherever needed. The problem of rehabilitation was a prodigious one and sometimes heart rending. A stubborn fight was won. with remarkably satisfactory results. Of the more than 60.000 refugees assembled in the city of Memphis. there were only 150 deaths. caused principally by pneumonia resulting from exposure. and contracted before reaching the city. The great levee across the Mississippi from Memphis. constructed under the supervision of the Army engineers. and protecting the rich agricultural land in eastern Arkansas and Missouri. withstood the flood. On that eventuality. everything hinged.
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refugees