Today’s episode of CNN Student News leads off with a segment about the efforts to divert flood waters away from downtown Vicksburg, Mississippi. The efforts include the rapid construction of a flood wall. The episode is embedded below.

The CNN Student News homepage has an “in depth” section that leads to a story about the flood waters in Mississippi. Part of that story is a tour of flood walls. Another aspect of that story includes a warning to residents to be aware that many snakes are displaced by the flood waters and to be cautious around the snakes they see. That story is embedded below.

If you show these videos in your classroom, some students will want to know how levees work. How Stuff Works has a five part explanation of levees.