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Flood of 2008

By Liz Martin

October 3^rd, 2020

The Cedar River nears its crest in Cedar Rapids shortly before noon on Friday, June 13, 2008.

Floodwaters rise around an abandoned car in downtown Cedar Rapids.

The Cedar River continues to rise around Veterans Memorial Building, which houses City Hall on May's Island.

Briar Patterson, 15, and his father Duane Patterson navigate the floodwaters with a friend's refrigerator aboard their boat as floodwaters continue to rise.

Jeff Palmer, left, hands Lauri Haldeman 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. Haldeman had alerted firef

Cedar Rapids firefighter Brent Smith hoists Gene Minder, 95, over his shoulder to carry him to dry ground after rescuing him from his Ellis Boulevard home. After the levee was topped, water rose rapidly in the Time Check neighborhood, covering one block i

Adam Pledge of Cedar Rapids stands in his parents' Northwest Cedar Rapids home as he begins to clean up from the previous 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 ad

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.

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 the week prior.

Artificial flowers in a glass jar are coated with silt a few days after the floodwater receded from Czech Village in Southwest Cedar Rapids.

Lindsay Lawrence bends down to hug her daughter Hayley, 3, as they see their home for the first time since evacuating 10 days earlier to escape the rising Cedar River. Their home was marked with a purple tag indicating that it was unsafe to enter; Lawrenc

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. Months after the flood, many houses still sit undisturbed, full of rot

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. — 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,

Footnotes

Images copyright The Gazette. Please inquire for licensing.

FootNotes

Images copyright The Gazette. Please inquire for licensing.

© 2026 Liz Martin

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