Tucker and Justin Humphrey used an excavator to build and reinforce an earthen levee around their family home in Bogota, Tennessee. The Washington Post reported that the barrier reached up to nine feet in places and that the house was protected during the early April 2025 floods, even as the surrounding area flooded. Their story describes a family’s site-specific effort—not a proven design for other homes.
What the brothers built
The Humphreys, both farmers, used their excavator to raise and shore up an earthen barrier around the family home. Tucker told Washington Post reporters Ruby Mellen and Ian Livingston that the family had built levees when floods threatened the property, carrying on a practice taught by their late father.
The brothers had their own machinery, which Tucker described as fortunate. The report presents the work as an ongoing family effort using farm equipment, not a purchased flood-protection system or a ready-made plan.
How the levee performed during the April 2025 flood
The Obion River runs beside Bogota. In its April 15, 2025, account, The Washington Post reported that the river rose about nine feet in as many hours during heavy rain at the beginning of April, then continued rising as water moved into the area. The flood peaked on April 8, about five feet below the record, according to the newspaper.
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The levee reached up to nine feet in some places, and the family home was protected in that event. That was a specific outcome during one flood; it does not establish how the barrier would perform under different water levels or conditions.
The brothers continued reinforcing the earthwork as rescue boats operated nearby. The Washington Post attributed to Dyer County Fire Chief James Medling an estimate that about 100 people had been rescued in the area. Those figures are from the newspaper’s contemporary report, not independently verified hydrological measurements.
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A family practice, not a general-purpose design
Tucker described the effort to The Washington Post as “Just normal things around here” and “Doing what we have to do to save the house.” Reflecting on what his late father had taught the family, he said, “He’d like seeing that,” and, “He’d know we were listening when we were kids.”
Futurism’s April 18, 2025, retelling quoted Tucker saying, “I’ll build it 30 feet tall if I got to.” That remark conveys his determination; it is not a measured description of the barrier or an engineering recommendation.
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The reports do not provide design plans, a site survey, soil analysis, permits, or an independent engineering review of the Humphreys’ levee. Nor do they establish that it was accredited or suitable for another property. FEMA’s general guidance says levees may reduce flood risk, but that does not certify this private earthwork or mean a levee removes flood risk. An improvised barrier should not be treated as a safe DIY project based on this anecdote.
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