© Jerry F. Couch
On May 11, 2024 during a local history presentation at the Clinch River Ecological Education Center in St. Paul, the photos you see here (along with many others) were displayed. The photos date from April of 1975 and they show a phenomenon that was taking place with increasing frequency – flooding in the Clinch River Valley. TVA cited several causes for the flooding. The principal reason, of course, was “nature.” But the floods were made worse by something nature hadn’t created – deforestation. Instead of being absorbed into the ground, rainwater quickly ran off the steep hillsides into the river. The result was very unpleasant for those who lived along the Clinch River’s banks.
Most of the buildings in these photos are just a memory today…
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