Aerial flood photos from Saline and Carroll counties

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

By Marcia Gorrell/Democrat-News

These pictures were taken on the evening of Tuesday, July 19 over Saline and Carroll counties. I am not able to identify the exact area where some of the photos are taken. If anyone recognizes the farms or area, please contact me at mgorrell@marshallnews.com. And check back often for updated information. Thank you so much to pilot Don Malter, who graciously took me up in his private airplane for the photos.

U.S. Highway 65 in Carroll County has become a "bridge over troubled water" of sorts this month. Several levee breaches, along with seep water from the Missouri River have forced the road between Waverly and Carrollton to narrow to one-lane traffic with the help of flagmen. White sandbags have been built to line the road and hold some of the water back.
Highway 65 in Carroll County, between Waverly and Carroll counties.

The dark strips are "duck corn" plots planted in the Grand Pass Wildlife Area along the Missouri River.
Even where levees have not breached or over-topped, seep water from the flooded Missouri River is drowning out many acres in the bottoms.
A levee was built around a "blow hole," or a place where the levee previously broke. This hole was presumably made from the Flood of 1993.
A train snakes through the Missouri River bottoms near Wakenda. A major levee broke there, causing flooding to approximately 22,000 acres.