Snakes, Rats and Sewage Spill Through Flooded Memphis Streets

FIRST PERSON | MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The flooding of the Mississippi River has been a nightmare for some citizens of here in western Tennessee. Property has been destroyed, lives threatened and families separated.

Despite the situation's obvious status as a nightmare, some residents are trying to look at it as a dream. Let me say that this is not a "glass half full" situation. Allow me to bring your attention to downtown Memphis:

The rising water level has spilled onto Beale Street, a popular hangout for many Memphians. The flood waters haven't stopped some local hipsters from wandering along the strip and visiting the still operating establishments on it. While this alone is foolish, the situation is much worse than you realize. Some of the visitors to Beale Street have started swimming and playing in it.

This isn't mountain spring water we're talking about. A quick glance at the contents of any flooded Memphis street is likely to reveal three things -- rats, snakes and raw sewage. Many of those rats are still alive and perfectly capable of biting. Then again, even the dead ones can spread disease. With this knowledge, imagine my surprise while going past Beale Street and seeing this. Children and adults alike were standing in the water goofing off.

Surely this was an isolated incident, right? I decided to ask some friends and family around Memphis if they had witnessed such behavior. I first got into contact with a good friend of mine from Orange Mound -- another poverty-stricken part of the city that's seen looting and violence amid the flooding. My friend, George, alerted me to not only people in his neighborhood playing in the filthy water, but also witnessing some people getting bit under the water -- only to keep playing.

We aren't just talking about just small children. My friend, 22, saw his contemporaries amusing themselves in the water. George witnessed one woman announce that "something bit me," only to splash some water onto the wound and get back to goofing off. I can really only attribute this to a poor understanding of the danger of playing in standing floodwaters. Upon asking around further, I learned of other incidents of people getting bit by snakes and rodents all over the city. Not all were simply playing in the water; many were wading through it in an attempt to get where they are going. Let me take this opportunity to warn any and all readers: Do not unless necessary enter flood waters! They are unsanitary and pest-ridden.