Iowa flood pics: devastating.

[edhopper]

Like a Hollywood disaster movie.
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/06/mississippi_floodwaters_in_iow.html

[ellie]

1. Oh my god.

That is awful. Those poor people.

[SharonAnn]

37. I recognized my hometown bridge in the second picture before I read the caption.

Growing up in Waterloo, built on both sides of the river, we crossed those bridges all the time. And the "4th Street" bridge is the main bridge in downtown.

What a tragedy.

[malaise]

2. Those are unbelievable -OMFG floods

They're still pointing guns on citizens I see -that good old Katrina model.

[Blue Gardener]

16. He was bumping the police with his truck

What did you expect them to do? Were they supposed to stand there and let him run them over?

[Vickers]

49. "What did you expect them to do?"

Let him go to his house?

:shrug:

[Blue Gardener]

55. Maybe if he hadn't left his dogs

To fend for themselves in an historic flood, I may feel more sympathy for the guy. As it is, I don't feel too sorry for him. I really don't understand how anyone could leave their pets behind to be swallowed up by floodwaters.
On edit: There were shelters available for everyone's pets. There was no excuse for leaving them behind. This wasn't like Katrina.

[kstewart33]

3. Amazing pictures. Thanks for posting. nt

[NV Whino]

4. Amazing photos

Thanks for posting.

[tilsammans]

5. Wow, what a tragedy

Thanks for posting.

:cry:

[mikita]

6. powerful photos

I can't begin to imagine the damage left behind that water ....

[dems_rightnow]

7. Fry and Bender

look scared to death! And no wonder. Great photos.

[ThatsMyBarack]

8. Glad to see those kittehs were saved!

Everything else: :cry:

[progressoid]

10. They are his fiance's cats.

Details here: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080612/NEWS/80612026/-1/SPORTS0803

[emilyg]

42. Yes.

[rndmprsn]

9. OMG...K&R

[murray hill farm]

11. Amazing pics!

Thanks and recommended.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

12. worse than a disaster movie

because it is real. Boy, those folks have a lot of cleanup to do.....what devastation! My heart goes out to them!

[Mabus]

13. Devastating is right

That picture of downtown Cedar Rapids. Holy fuck.

[Fire Walk With Me]

14. Knowing that those two famous cats are named Fry and Bender makes this whole thing even more human

to me.

Thanks...

[HCE SuiGeneris]

15. Absolutely tragic.

:cry: :cry:

[bluesmail]

17. Thanks for posting that link.. I heard on Countdown that Obama

was in Illinois filling sandbags to get the corporate media's attention a story on the flooding.

[Arugula Latte]

40. Yabbut -- Tim Russert Died!!

OMG, that trumps everything!

[hootinholler]

18. The houses pile against the bridge...

Did you notice the decks? The tables and chairs are still arranged. They look like they are houseboats.

-Hoot

[emmadoggy]

30. They are (or "were" as it were) houseboats. nt

[hootinholler]

34. The caption says buildings...

Clearly, they ended up as houseboats, it's not clear if they started that way.

-Hoot

[emmadoggy]

35. Sorry, I should have been more clear...

I'm from Iowa. I spent several days watching the full-time, commercial-free coverage on KCRG - the Cedar Rapids tv station. They reported on those houseboats when they broke free from their moorings and showed video. Showed them floating free down the river. Later showed how they had ended up against the railroad bridge.

So, yes, they really were houseboats.

[dysfunctional press]

44. regular houses wouldn't float too long intact if swept from their foundations.

but the first time i saw that pic- i thought that they were actual normal houses as well.

[Rex]

19. Wow. That is horrible.

Down here in south Texas it is a real scorcher. 6 inches of rain since last August! The area is yellow and brown, not green like just about every year.

[nadinbrzezinski]

20. Ain't this grand? So where was boy prince most of the time

drinking tea and having crumpets

Hey at least not playing a guitar

[fishwax]

21. k/r

[DeepModem Mom]

22. K&R

[reggie the dog]

23. comment 299, how to make profit off of disaster

"#

Wow!!!!!!!

I am LONG so many contracts of corn at the good ol' CME. Never thought I can make another fortune like I did in natural gas after profiting from huricane Katrina.

You can call me an evil speculator but is it not great to know one can profit off natural disasters!!!

Just one every year would be fine by me, thank you mother nature!!!
Posted by Commodity Speculator June 21, 08 02:59 PM"


what an asshole. Pretty much sums up what is wrong with the world today.

[Clark2008]

24. I think that post was supposed to be sarcastic.

I doubt a commodities trader (traitor) actually got on that board and said that.

I'm thinking it was a pissed off Iowan pointing out the realties of what speculators do and what happens when they go un-checked.

[reggie the dog]

25. I hope you are correct

If not my view of humanity will just get worse.

[Clark2008]

27. My view if humanity is pretty much in the toilet, already.

But, I do think that post was a bit of real news trying to eke it's way in.

[trusty elf]

54. One would hope so,

but it's hard to tell any more.

This brings to mind the Enron traders who joked about stealing money from grandmothers.

[Condem]

26. thanks, edhopper

[Liberal_in_LA]

28. "Debris"? Those are whole houses floating away.

[Festivito]

32. Another Bush term, another American city washes away.

A twenty house pile up on the Cedar Rapids bridge.

It's the downtown picture that catches me.

[trickyguy]

29. The power of water - a humbling experience. My heart goes out.

[GreenPartyVoter]

31. So horrible. My heart hurts for all those affected

[emmadoggy]

33. Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvVfyaEDXZM&NR=1

[stark6935]

36. This is my home :(

I live about 5 blocks from those house boats against the train bridge there. That bridge goes right into the Quaker oats factory downtown, and if you see your cereal prices going up don't be surprised. It's really incredible seeing all the people helping everyone rebuild around here. There is litterally 100s of family/friends helping gut entire houses directly across the street from me. I happen to live on a hill, but pretty much all my neighbors were under water. I couldn't go home for about a week, and I'm one of the lucky ones...

[stark6935]

38. Couple pics of the houses right across the street.

The one is the water creeping in, withing about 6 hours the water was up my lawn...

[CoffeeCat]

47. I just can't imagine watching that water!

Your pictures are so frightening!

So basically, everyone in the neighborhood watched helplessly as those waters slinked
closer and closer to their homes?

That must have been...just awful!

So, was the damage to your home minimal? I see that your house is up on a hill. I hope
your property escaped major damage. Are you West of the Cedar River?

I'm from Cedar Rapids (grew up in Bowman Woods), and I'm just so sorry that this is happening.

Please let us know how you and your house are doing now. It looks like most of your neighbors
took big hits. I'm so sorry.

:hug:

[Connonym]

41. :hugs:

I'm from Cedar Rapids and I've been following this with horror. The hospital (Mercy) I was born in was evacuated, my dad worked for Quaker. I've been on those streets and know so many people who live there. My heart is broken and part of me is a little offended that this isn't the biggest news story the way Katrina was. Granted the population is a lot less but with the crop damage added into this I believe we're going to see this have a much larger impact on the economy. My heart is in Iowa, always has and always will be. I'm glad you are well and safe and I hope our city (because it will always be home to me) heals quickly.

[CoffeeCat]

46. I'm from CR too...

I was also born in Mercy Hospital. :)

I look at those pictures and I am just so dumbfounded and mortified. This flood is just
absolutely mind blowing. I look at the wide-angle pictures of downtown--and I can't believe
how high the water is up to I-380! The bridges are all submerged, and I-380 looks completely
surreal. It was also strange to see all of the water around Quaker Oats.

I heard that the Paramount Theater was recently renovated and was breathtaking. I'm sure
the community will rally around the entire downtown area, and that downtown will come
back stronger than ever.

You know CR--the people there are fabulous and there is such a tight-knit community there.

The sad truth is--CR didn't get as much coverage because of Tim Russert.

I hope all of your CR friends and family are ok, and that they are safe and well.

[Blue Gardener]

56. My Dad retired from Quaker!

When we were kids, we ate Captain Crunch all the time!

[Connonym]

64. Lol me too

Dad was always bringing home tons of the stuff. My body was made by Quaker I swear.

[emmadoggy]

53. I'm so sorry for you and all your neighbors and friends and the city of

Cedar Rapids.

My hubby and I lived there briefly (6 months) back in 1995. It was just horrifying to watch the coverage on KCRG and watch the city be taken over block by block by the floodwaters.

We Iowans are a resilient bunch. I know that CR will get back on its feet, but it is definitely going to take some time and is really going to hurt for a while.

Hang in there and know that we all are thinking of you.:hug:

[paparush]

39. Goddamn..that first picture looks apocalyptic....

[defendandprotect]

43. Any reports yet on FEMA's latest performance . . . ????

[Kablooie]

45. Like New Orleans all over again.

[Connonym]

48. In a lot of ways but also different in some very important ways

I don't think as many people were displaced by the flood in Cedar Rapids and I don't know Louisiana but I'm from Iowa and I know that you can be a stranger walking down the street and people will wave and say hi as you pass by -- Iowans will make sure that people have a place to live. But the clean up is going to be hell and it's going to be tragic to the city of CR if some of the larger businesses decide to not rebuild. I can't even imagine Cedar Rapids w/o Quaker. But I think the overall this is going to hurt the whole nation in a different way -- food prices. Food's already outrageously expensive and I would imagine a lot of silos of grain are totally ruined, fields are under water and it's too late to reliably plant again. Combine that with the effects of dry weather in California and we're all going to be feeling an even bigger pinch at the grocery store. I expect we'll see a temporary drop in the price of beef as they kill off cattle (too expensive to feed) but that's just going to be temporary and in the long run will run the price of beef through the roof. This could very well put a big damper on ethanol (which I personally think is good). Corn is the backbone of our economy and we are going to be in for a world of hurt if we get too many seasons like this.

[stark6935]

51. More pics

Here are a few more pics (sorry for the poor quality). I forgot to show how high it actually rose in my yard. This is what it looks like for blocks and blocks. I have helped the people across the street from me drag nasty stuff from their house, and I will help them hang drywall and whatever else I can do to help.

One thing I would like to say. I am pretty pissed that when bush came to do his photo shoot fly over bullshit, that he actually had to use about 30 hotel rooms that people who had absolutely no where to go were living in and....kicked them out so he could sleep there for one night. This guy is a piece of shit. I mean, he could have flown to Chicago, or somewhere in no time and had a room... I don't even know what to say.

[stark6935]

52. Couple other things...

The guy that tried to drive through the barrier was one of pretty much...one case I heard that the police had to pull weapons on, because he actually hit a cop twice trying to drive through, so it was kind of routine police stuff I guess.

As for Fema, and the response, it has been really good. They have had people walking through actually leaving flyers called the recovery news on everyones door in the area letting them know how they can get help, and where.

I don't think we would be fairing so well if it weren't for the tight nit of our community, and the fact we take a lot of pride in how much work it takes to own our humble homes. I really hope most my neighbors come back, and make our area twice as nice.

[myrna minx]

50. Oh my word. Horrible. n/t

[1776Forever]

57. Wow - Just devistating and think about what they are going to go back to

:scared:

[Highway61]

58. America is falling apart

Yet we have billions for Iraq. How tragic and sad.

[moondust]

61. It is

unbelievable. Must be a bad dream...

[npincus]

59. Jesus Christ! We're pouring $10 billion/month into the Iraq Hole...

we need our $$$ and our National Guard HERE... and the news media doesn't cover the war anymore. Goddamn them.

[lebkuchen]

60. How do you think deployed soldiers from flooded states feel?

What a hopeless state of affairs Bush has placed our country in, and he is still driving on with PNAC. What other person living today has less of a conscience than Bush?

[raccoon]

62. Thanks for the link. Especially the photo with the cats was moving. nt

[conscious evolution]

63. Have the cats been LOL'ed yet?

Incredible photographs.
When will we realize as a species that when it comes to man vs. nature nature ALWAYS whens.