Northland Flood.

My hometown area was devastated last week with a horrific flood.  The torrential rainfall of up to 10 inches in some areas nearly destroyed the city of Duluth and many surrounding towns and areas.  Officials are estimating over 100 million in flood damage in just public domains alone.  I have been just sick hearing of all the damage and following the news coverage via Facebook, news stations, and news papers.  I can not even imagine what people are going through that have lost their homes, their everything.  None of my family's homes have been affected by the mass amount of rain (aside from a little wetness in the basements) thank God!  Thankfully, there have been no documented human deaths related to the flooding, which is a Godsend.  I have gathered a collection of photos from others to post on my blog to have for the future.  God bless the northland and good luck with rebuilding your cities!

 The above 3 photos are of Jay Cooke State Park.  This is a park that is about 5 minutes away from my mom and dad's house near Carlton, MN.  Growing up, I spent an abundance of time walking, hiking, rollerblading, running, and just enjoying the trails and park.  The road is completely destroyed and the park is closed for now.  The first picture is of the swinging bridge which was completely taken out.  This is also where Ryan and I were married.  It is so difficult to see the mass destruction of this beautiful rustic luxury so close to my mom and dad's and such a big part of my life.

The above 2 photos are some streets in the city of Duluth.  There were several sinkholes (scary) and you can see how the roads are just completely destroyed.  On a lighter note, Kadence thought maybe Lightning McQueen could fix their roads!

This aerial view of the mall area shows Target, Grandma's Restaurant, and several other stores submerged in water.

 The Lake Superior Zoo suffered a great deal of destruction and lost several of their animals due to drowning.  The above picture is a picture of a seal that was washed out of the zoo and found on a major city street.  He was rescued and survived!  He now has a twitter account.  Silly.

This is a great photo of the lift bridge area showing the brown color of the water from all the mud, soil, and debris that had been dumped in to Lake Superior.  It is typically the prettiest color blue.

And...at a time like this it never hurts to have a little sense of humor.  This picture makes me laugh every time I look at it.
*These are just a few of the pictures of the damage.  There was no way I could possibly post all of them.  I am not saying any parts of the damage is worse than another.  It is all devastating.