Flooding in Downtown Davenport Could Get Worse

I saw it on my way to work again and it brought back so many memories.

As I was taking Centennial Bridge across the Mighty Mississippi to work this morning, I glanced over and noticed the walkways at LeClarie Park were under water. Whenever the Mississippi River begins to flood, my memories are instantly taken back to the iconic Flood of '93.

My family and I were living along the river during that time and I recall so many details of that flood season. I will never forget. It started when my Mom discovered water in the basement. That led to us all taking shifts over night with the wet vac, sucking up the never ending stream of water coming up through our basement floor. The sump pump couldn't keep up. There was no where for the water to go. Tired and worn out, we found ourselves  ripping up the soaked carpets throughout the entire basement just a couple hours later. Furniture was stacked to preserve as much as we could.

Looking at the devastation to other homes, we were lucky to only have had the thousands of dollars worth of damage we had. Some home were total losses. I remember going to the grade school, where the Governor flew in on a helicopter and helped fill one or two sandbags for a pic opportunity, talked with a few people and then left again. I volunteered at the school and handed out food and blankets to the families who were now staying there after losing their homes. It was sad but also a strong memory of community support and togetherness.

I also remember my older sister and her friends (and me tagging along) getting ready to go walk by the National Guard soldiers who came to town to help fill sandbags. We couldn't help but giggle and be curious who these young, cute guys were in uniform.

According to QCtimes.com,

“The walkways are flooded between the boat and the (Modern Woodmen) baseball field,” Davenport Police Sgt. Michael Murphy said Sunday night.