In
June, 2011 the Missouri River flooded out numerous towns along
the Iowa/Nebraska state line.
Parts of Nebraska and Iowa were bracing
for the worst as the Missouri river kept rising and rising. We
documented some of the flood preparations near Nebraska City,
then saw the floodwaters 2 days later as they began to encroach
on the town of Hamburg, Iowa. It was amazing to witness how much
the water rose in those 2 days!
The gas station pumps have been
removed in anticipation of the flood.
The local shops were all closed
and barricaded with sand bags as the flood waters crept higher
and higher nearby.
Wendy's "Closed due to
flood"
"Lake front property for
sale"
A Motel chain tried to protect
the building from the impending flood.
"Gone fishing"
A hastily built earthen dam
is all that is protecting many of the buildings in town.
Sandbags
Construction crews, busy building
a temporary levee to protect the town of Hamburg, Iowa.
As the water rises, a highway
exit we were on 2 days before is now flooded. I had to wade through
deep water to get to the other side.
The rising water is almost up
to the level of Interstate highway 29.
Road closed. Telephone poles
hint at where the road is now.
Flooded farmland
More flooded farmland.
The water is almost up to the
top of the fence.
That is not solid land in the
foreground, it is floating debris.
Flooded farming structure.
Military helicopter circling
the area, surveying the flooding.
