Parkville Flood : The 2011 Story of One Missouri Town Photo Gallery by Liz Bickel at pbase.com

Parkville Flood : The 2011 Story of One Missouri Town

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Copyrighted Images. DO NOT DOWNLOAD, copy, reproduce, or use in any way without written permission from Elizabeth Bickel.

Slide Show https://pbase.com/britestar/2011_flood_of_the_century&view=slideshow However, reading the more detailed explanations under individual, enlarged images may help one better understand my story of the Parkville Flood.

This is a 4 part gallery: The Preparations, The Waiting, The Flood, and the Aftermath.

Via power turbines and spillways from reservoirs at 4 major Northern Lakes, the Army Corps of Engineers released 160,000 cubic feet of water PER SECOND (about 1.12 million gallons; which is enough water to fill 13 Olympic size pools) from Gavin's Point, South Dakota. This unprecedented, continuing large quantity of water emptied into the Missouri River headed straight toward Parkville. The Army Corps release continued until August. Rushing downstream, the sheer volume of water coming from the Upper Midwest caused historic flooding all along the Missouri River. Various interstate hiways - plus many, many state roads & even more local roads - were covered by flood waters and remained closed for months. People still have to drive hours out of their way just to go to work. Following the breaching of levies, many communities were forced to fight for their very existence.

These same flood waters reached the historic city of Parkville. Long standing water made this flood very different than any previous one in memory.

During the 1800's, Parkville was a very important center of commerce. Back when nearby Kansas City was in its infancy, Parkville held the main spot light over the now larger city. Indians, trappers, traders, and farmers all flocked to the thriving river port of Parkville. Today, Parkville is a tourist destination with quaint shops, warm little town feeling, and historic memories. Several of the original buildings remain and date back to 1840. These buildings are now in danger from the flood waters.

Nearby Kansas City did feel any significant impact from this Flood. Meanwhile, lives in the historic city of Parkville were changed by the flood of 2011. Parkville's close proximity to the Missouri River - that made it the Center of Commerce 300 years ago - still connects the City to what happens with the River today.

For the record, I am not a Parkville resident. However, the story of this strong community (filled with so much history) has captivated me; just as it has the news media and much of Missouri.

Historic Little Town	Running Fast & High	You know trouble	Up on the Hill	Out of a Storybook
English Landing Park	Walking Trail	Baseball Field	Rush Creek	Water Treatment Plant
Power Plant	Park College	Across the Tracks	May Rain	Debris from Up River
Fallen	Headed Down River	Help from Other Cities	Army Corps	Reserve Sand
Supplies	Working Together 2011	Emergency Command Center	Bringing In The Machine	Bringing in Sand
The Media	Hard Work	Team Effort	Working Together	Protective Wall
Live At Five!	Emergency Management	Feeling the Heat	Emergency Call	Passing
Tools	Moving Sandbags	Pallets	Two Thousand	River Side
Change	An American Town	The Youngest Volunteer	Sandbags	Frame Work
The News at Six	It Takes a Team	Filled	Manned Crossing	Crossing Guard 2011
Before the Flood	Trying to Save Town	Building the Portadam	Everything That Can Be Done	Many Trips
Portadam	Protecting the Town	Man and Machine	Sandbags	Smooth Operation
Sale	Volunteers	More	Marked	Is This High Enough?
Nature Sanctury	Protected Pump Station	Community Spirit	Filled	Part of the Line
Wall	Protecting Underground	Prepared	Fate of the Post Office	Time to Leave
History in Danger	River Side 2011	Taking Advantage	English Landing Park	Waiting
Endangered	Last Sections	Will This Be Successful?	Getting High	High Water
Almost Finished	Life Goes On	Wait and See	Waiting	Ignoring Danger
When Will It Flood? 2011	Army Corps	Breaking Down	Until the Last Moment 2011	Bridge Closed
News Story	The Party is Over	Sign of the Times	It's Started	Thank You
Closed	Strange Nature	Beauty 2011	Stop the Flood!	Where Do We Go Now!
Water Works	Last Walk	Weird Wildlife	Survivor	Struggling to Stay Afloat
Well Suited	River Floods	Talk a Walk with Me 2011	Ball Field Under Water	Swimming into Town
Raging	Just Before	Covered	Rising Water	Flood Waters Bring Snakes
Fallen	No Longer Safe	Missouri River Heads Down Main Street	Running Too High	Only Thing Left
Rising Water	For Those Who Can Read	Drowning	Hard to Miss	Stupid
What Else is in the Water?	Busted	Toxic Soup	Another One	Flood Reaches Pump Station
Ducks Downtown	Sitting in the Water 2011	Dangerously High	Gonna Get Even Worse	To Be Continued...
Flood Plump	Flooded	A Month Later	Concerned

Bob White		04-Aug-2011 18:59
A well documented story about a historic town's fate and its surrounding countryside and wildlife keep up the good work

Wei O'Connell		04-Aug-2011 04:10
Excellent documentary photos. Thank you for sharing! v

Guest		08-Jul-2011 22:49
Amazing story-line of mother nature raging..sad but it happens ..as man fights back..V

Zolt�n Balogh		08-Jul-2011 18:44
A real food for thought - superb photojournalism Liz, well done! V

Guest		07-Jul-2011 05:55
You've handled this story expertly. I was in Parkville over the weekend. How sad that they couldn't have the normal Fourth of July celebrations next to the River. Like you've shown in your photos, I also saw people going under the Police barricades. That kind of behavior really makes you wonder about people. Glad you included the man getting a ticket for his foolishness. Maybe others now won't be so quick to do the same. Hope Parkville recovers soon, but I've heard the water is here to stay until at least September.

Ali Majdfar		02-Jul-2011 18:22
Fascinating pictorail tour! ~V

Charles Muffite		01-Jul-2011 02:13
My wife and I have been following your report. After we watched the news tonight, we went out to downtown Parkville. So much water everywhere. Although I took a few pictures with our little camera, we're both very much looking forward to seeing your photos of the actual flood now that it's really here. You seem to see so many things we miss. Superb story telling. As others have said, thank you for sharing your amazing pictures.

Guest		30-Jun-2011 07:28
What a terrible thing to have happen to this town. Your many views of the people of this community have particularly made me feel like I'm part of what is happening there. You are sharing their story both artistically and compassionately. A friend of mine told me about this gallery. This is more than just another news story. I look forward to seeing more of your work in the days to come. My heart also goes out to the people of Parkville and all the other little towns along the Missouri.

Carl Carbone		29-Jun-2011 02:57
Very interesting gallery. I can't imagine living with this. V

Long Bach Nguyen		28-Jun-2011 04:51
excellent documentary gallery, very informative images of the devastation

Lexi Jones		27-Jun-2011 06:56
Thank you for sharing these images with the World. Until recently, I've been a life long resident of Parkville and it makes my heart feel good that someone is showing a side to Parkville that the news hasn't touched. My family still lives there. Your photos are amazing. Is there some place that I can buy some of these photos? I'm very proud of my hometown and how people always come together in the time of hardship. I wish someone had done a photo gallery like this of the Flood of 93. Your photos and story telling are incredible.

Patricia Kay		25-Jun-2011 19:37
Excellent images Liz...It is great to see the comunity pulling together and I hope all the preparation serves them well...It must feel like you are on a knife edge just waiting fo the flood...BV

Mair�ad		25-Jun-2011 19:00
Great photojournalism Liz. I hope not many homes and businesses are ruined by the floodwaters. V

globalgadabout		25-Jun-2011 16:34
comprehensive coverage of this alarming and still unfolding story...stellar work Liz...V

zyziza		25-Jun-2011 13:28
Great reportage! v

Robert C		25-Jun-2011 07:03
Checking the web, I found your gallery. Outstanding work of telling Parkville's story. I can't believe that we're still waiting. This not knowing what is going to happen is almost as hard as having to deal with the flood. People have already stopped coming to Parkville; so we're feeling the effects of the flood before the waters come. I hope this gallery lets people know that until the flood waters cross the railroad tracks, Parkville is open.

joseantonio		23-Jun-2011 04:53
Very nice report

Tom LeRoy		18-Jun-2011 08:49
An excellent documentary gallery!V!

Guest		17-Jun-2011 11:26
Interesting story and gallery, my wife if from Parkville and went to the college there, so I am very interested in what is going to happen. Keep us posted. : ) v

Sharon Dalox guest		17-Jun-2011 03:53
I found your photos a few days ago. I now see a lot of new ones. Thank you for keeping us up to date on what is happening in Parkville. Before the levi breeches up North, the Flood was supposed to hit Parkville today. Now it seems nobody knows when the river will finally go out of its banks. I hope all this flood preparation works the way it is supposed to. I'm following this photo gallery carefully. You've giving us so much information.

Guest		16-Jun-2011 06:26
Thanks for sharing this story! ~V

Mary Meyers		14-Jun-2011 21:24
After reading your article, I was very happy when a Google search led me to an entire photo gallery with even more of your pictures. I look forward to part 2 of your story and will now be checking back here for additional photos.

Jim Coffman		13-Jun-2011 23:39
This is truly a shame ! Floods are so devastating. I went through a flood a few years back when I was still in business. I had over four feet of water in my building. What a disaster! My heart goes out to Parkville.

Paolo Peggi (aka Bracciodiferro)		11-Jun-2011 20:29
Fab. Work,Liz!BV Paolo :)

Sharon Payne		11-Jun-2011 18:51
Thank you for doing this gallery. I've been watching the news about Parkville on TV every night for the past couple of weeks. Things sound very bad. I'm glad you're including how the town looked before the Flood. Although we live elsewhere, my family & I attended many different festivals in English Landing Park over the years. Hopefully, the city will be able to rebuild after the flood.

an nguyen		11-Jun-2011 03:12
I am so glad you document this place so carefully and so clearly , so I can follow how the flood going . I hope they save the little town .

John Cipar		10-Jun-2011 06:20
We're also on the Missouri but not as close as Parkville. I'm impressed how you're doing this gallery that will have photos of both the before and after. Hopefully, the after isn't as bad as they've been predicting. My family and I have been to Parkville many times. Such a nice town with so many friendly people. It would be sad to see a flood destroy all that. Thank you for doing this photo documentation of their story.

Dave A.		09-Jun-2011 21:55
I hope you will be able to post photos of the aftermath on Pbase for the rest of us to see. Down here on the Gulf Coast, we have been experiencing an extended drought and extremely high temperatures early in the year. We hope it isn't a harbinger of a bad hurricane season. Seems like the whole country is getting hit by some sort of natural disaster this year.

click on thumbnails for full image