The lower structure at Old river today
They aren't. The headline and the story are totally bogus. There are few to no real farms in the area that will be flooded. There is indeed "land that is farmed", but it is farmed as "rental land" by large farmers whose "home farms" are NOT in the floodway. All the "small towns" are surrounded by what are called "ring levees", and are safe. There "are" a few subdivisions that have been developed outside those levees, but anybody who bought or built there knew up front what the dangers were.
This is virtually nothing to do with the "Chocolate City". This has to do with the Port of New Orleans and hundreds of industrial plants in and between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, including a large portion of the country's oil refining capability. If THAT floods, we'll ALL be damned sorry.
Personal note. I'm from the area. The Morganza Floodway and Old River structures were built when I was in elementary school, and I watched them being built. When it was first used in 1973, I was in college, and drove over the Morganza control structure several times on my way home for weekends (and hundreds, if not thousands of times, when it was "not" open). The head engineer of the project was a friend of the family, and he retired there.
Today it seems no one that knew or should have known lets that stop them from screaming and yelling and trying to change the rules ex post facto.
The lower structure at Old river today