Friday, April 17, 2009

Jamestown Flood Photos

Here is just a sample of pictures I took of the sandbagging effort, and rising river waters in Jamestown. I've been spending whatever free time I have to help sand bag at the Civic Center and drive, alk and run by the river all the time. I've seen the river rise ten feet over the last month.

The James River. Across the way, you can see machines building a wall during the night using a flood light to improve sight.
The sandbagging effort. This was 9pm, right before they called for a stoppage. I saw 5 times as many people earlier in the day. 
Here is just a sample the sand bags in queue. The people fill them, put them on pallettes, forklifts move them on a huge semi truck and put them in empty parking lots by the railroad tracks in the middle of town. Trucks then come by and pick them up and move them to wherever they need them by the thousands. 
The semi trucks with weight from the sandbags are not kind to the pavment. There are huge pot holes all over the volunteer area. 
Here is a photo from across the river from Anton Klaus park, which has been shut down. The park is slowly turning into an island.  

2 comments:

Alicia Billings said...

Thanks for posting these incredible yet daunting photos. It's a good representation of what's been happening all over the state with the record snowfall.

The good people of North Dakota really know how to pull together. Be safe everyone and remember to get some rest when you can.

Pam said...

:( How frightening. But thank you, and the other volunteers who have banded together!