How Did The Dust Bowl Affect Central America

Dust during the Depression As people ambled on during the Great Depression, in the Great Plains, havoc occurred when hundreds of tons of dust rose up and blew through the air. Today, we know this tragic event as the Dust Bowl. The Dust Bowl affected Central America because many people were forced to relocate due to the harsh conditions. To start, the Dust Bowl was a series of dust storms that took place in the 1930’s. The storm lasted for about eight years and in that period of time, the storm made many families move, it destroyed the homes and crops of many people (Roop Peter). The Dust Bowl was caused by the over plowing of land and lack of water on farms in the Southern plains (About the Dust Bowl). Because of the rough winds, the loose topsoil was picked up and blown throughout the Great Plains. The winds were so incredibly strong that a trucks were blown to the side and the dust was so thick travelers got lost and could not see the road ahead (LeRoy Hankel) No matter what way the wind blew, the dust still came; there was dust from Kansas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico (Roop Peter). Farmers had their tractors buried beneath dust and homes were half buried by dust (Roop Peter). Due to all the dust blowing around in the air, dust was in houses and
Those who chose to stay struggled to keep dust out of their homes; they made sure that the “windows were taped” to prevent dust from getting in and surgeons had a hard time keeping “their instruments sterile” (Roop Peter). Farmers could not grow crops due to the little rain and the fact that the wind blew out the seeds and the dust killed any living seedling (Elroy Hoffman). Because of the amount of dust in the air, people had a hard time breathing and caught dust pneumonia. This disease often affected elderly people and young children. Some people actually died from this uncommon