Cairo, Illinois is largely abandoned due to a combination of economic decline from changing transportation (loss of river/rail trade), severe racial tension and violence, and repeated devastating floods, which together caused a massive population exodus from its peak of 15,000 in the 1920s to under 2,000 today, leaving many buildings empty. The Cairo riot of 1967 was one of 159 race riots that swept cities in the United States during the "Long Hot Summer of 1967". This riot began on July 17, 196