US | Mississippi Makeshift Levees Protect Homes From Flooding Mississippi residents take matters into their own hands By John Johnson Posted May 19, 2011 5:51 PM CDT Copied A levee protects a home surrounded by floodwater from the Yazoo River near Vicksburg, Mississippi. (Getty Images) See 5 more photos Some homeowners are putting up a fight against the mighty Mississippi and its tributaries, notes Popular Science. The AP and Getty have remarkable images of homes near Vicksburg shielded by makeshift levees. It's "a testament to the human instinct to protect hearth and home," notes Clay Dillow. Click to read about the first fatality linked to the Mississippi flooding. Read These Next Iran's new leader issued a defiant first statement. One critical island in Iran has remained unscathed in airstrikes. Country star cancels rest of his tour: 'I am mentally unwell.' FBI alert alleges Iran might have its eye on a US state. Report an error