2008 favorites: flood

It was really hard to narrow down my favorite photos from the flood (and, really, seems strange to call them 'favorites' considering that we're talking about a natural disaster..). More of my flood work can be found in the June archives. I've arranged them roughly chronologically here. I've also put together a series of details that I shot during the flood. You can see from the dates that most of the work came after the flood -- in fact, flood coverage continues even now, as we tell the stories of the rebuilding.

The Cedar River continues to rise around City Hall and May's Island Thursday afternoon, June 12, 2008. The river rose above record levels Thursday, and is expected to crest Friday morning.


Jeff Palmer, left, hands Lauri Haldeman, both of Cedar Rapids, the dog of Gene Minder, 95, who was rescued from his Ellis Boulevard home by Cedar Rapids and Ely firefighters as floodwaters of the Cedar River rose to nearly six feet in his living room Thursday morning, June 12, 2008. Haldeman alerted firefighters that Minder was stuck in his home.

Artificial flowers in a glass jar are coated with silt on Monday, June 16, 2008, after the floodwater receded from Czech Village in Southwest Cedar Rapids. The water broke windows of the antique shops in the historic district, leaving antiques and gifts scattered in the streets.

A tablecloth from Zins Restaurant in downtown Cedar Rapids shows evidence of the place setting that remained on the table as floodwaters overtook the restaurant last week. Photographed on Tuesday, June 17, 2008. The restaurant is among those that, seven months after the flood, have still not reopened.

Condensation forms in the inside of the Cedar Rapids Freedom Festival windows as festival mascot Sam oversees cleanup from the flood in downtown Cedar Rapids on Tuesday, June 17, 2008.

Dried worms line the sidewalks in the Time Check neighborhood in Northwest Cedar Rapids on Friday, June 20, 2008.

Adam Pledge of Cedar Rapids stands in his parents' Time Check home in Northwest Cedar Rapids on Friday morning, June 20, 2008, as he begins to clean up from last week's flood. Pledge works for the city's solid waste department, so he'll be picking up trash removed from flood-damaged homes in addition to cleaning out his parents' home.

Lindsay Lawrence bends down to hug her daughter Hayley, 3, as they see their home for the first time on Friday, June 20, 2008, since evacuating to escape the rising Cedar River the previous Tuesday, June 10. Their home was marked with a purple tag indicating that it was unsafe to enter; the house was demolished several months later. "Seeing the TV, you can stay calm until you get here and see face to face what it is," Lindsay Lawrence said. They were able to remove clothes, photos and major appliances before evacuating. "It's unreal to think... our whole lives were in there," Lindsay said. It was the first home the family had owned.

This photo was part of a larger series of portraits of people whose homes were marked for demolition.
Todd Gareau and his fiancée Julie Stevens had lived in their Northwest Cedar Rapids house for six months before the Cedar River topped the levee and flooded the house. "We were building a home together," Stevens said. They had planned on buying the house, and it would have been the first home either had owned. Now, they plan to leave Iowa. They had set a wedding date in August, but say they may get married sooner. Photographed Sunday, June 29, 2008, with their dog Jack. The couple also has three cats, which were rescued from the top floor of the home as floodwaters rose.

Secret Service agents provide security as Republican presidential candidate John McCain and his running mate Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin tour flood damaged areas of Northwest Cedar Rapids on Thursday, Sept. 18, 2008. Months after the flood, many houses still sit undisturbed, full of rotting furniture, and trash from gutted homes still lines the streets.