30 before and after photos show the devastation from the floods in the Midwest

A truck drives along a flooded highway on the Mississippi River floodwaters on May 23, 2011 in Vicksburg, Mississippi.
A truck drives along a flooded highway on the Mississippi River. Mario Tama / Getty
  • The Mississippi River has been flooding since February 2019, making it the second longest-lasting flood in the region in 92 years.
  • President Donald Trump has declared emergencies for over a dozen states that have had major flood-related disasters.
  • Some soybean and corn farms have been unable to plant any crops since their land is underwater.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Advertisement

The divide between the Mississippi River and land is no longer so clear.

Since February 2019, parts of the Mississippi River have been flooding for months due to heavy snow, rain, and Tropical Storm Barry. It's now the longest-lasting flood since "the great flood" of 1927.

By the end of July, President Donald Trump declared major flood-related disasters in several states.

Entire towns have been submerged, and boats have become the preferred mode of transport. Some soybean and corn farmers won't plant any crops this year due to their land being under water.

Advertisement

These 30 photos show how dire the flooding has been, especially compared to what the area usually looks like dry.

Advertisement

This might look like a lake, but until earlier this year, it was a soybean farm in Vicksburg, Mississippi, owned and farmed by by Randy and his daughter Victoria Darden. Videographer Nathan Willis visited the area for an episode of "Business Insider Today".

Midwest floods
Midwest floods Nathan Willis

Source: Business Insider

Randy has lived in the area for about 50 years, but this is the first time he won't be planting at all. Here they're gliding towards what is usually fields of soybean crops. Instead, it's 6 feet of water.

Midwest floods
Midwest floods Nathan Willis

Source: Business Insider

Advertisement

That means the Dardens won't be bringing in any income this year, when they usually grow about $600,000 worth of crops.

Typical crops
Business Insider

Source: Business Insider

The floodwaters swallowed up tractors on farmland near the Mississippi River.

Tractors underwater in Mississippi Delta flooding
Instead of a tractor, farmers travel their farm by boat. Nathan Willis
Advertisement

And submerged this truck.

Midwest flooding.
Midwest flooding. Nathan Willis

Boats or four-wheel-drive vehicles have been necessary to get around.

Farmers in Mississippi Delta Flooding
Farmers have to use four-wheelers to travel their flooded farmlands in the Mississippi Delta. Nathan Willis
Advertisement

Towns situated right beside the Mississippi River, like Grafton, Illinois, are especially prone to flooding.

Grafton Illinois.
Grafton Illinois. Google Maps / Business Insider

This residential area in Grafton looks completely different from normal.

Floodwaters submerge a residential area on June 6, 2019 in Grafton, Illinois. Residents along Mississippi river are bracing for the expected arrival of the crest at near record levels on Friday.
Floodwaters submerge a residential area on June 6, 2019 in Grafton, Illinois. Residents along Mississippi river are bracing for the expected arrival of the crest at near record levels on Friday. Michael B. Thomas / Getty
Advertisement

Typically, the lighthouse seen in the previous photo isn't actually in the water.

Grafton, Illinois.
Grafton, Illinois. Google Maps

Here a man cuts his lawns just up from one of Grafton's main roads, which is entirely submerged.

A man cuts the grass as flooding from the Mississippi River inundates a neighborhood on June 7, 2019 in Grafton, Illinois. Residents along Mississippi river are bracing for the expected arrival of the crest at near record levels on Friday.
A man cuts the grass as flooding from the Mississippi River inundates a neighborhood. Michael B. Thomas / Getty
Advertisement

This is what it normally looks like.

Aeries winery
Grafton, Illinois. Google Maps

In May, water similarly covered the streets of Davenport, Iowa.

Flood water surround a bench near the main breach in the Mississippi River in Davenport, Iowa on Friday, May 3, 2018. (
Flood water surrounds a bench in Davenport, Iowa. KC McGinnis / The Washington Post / Getty
Advertisement

And it surrounded businesses, like the Half Nelson and Bootleg Hill Taproom.

Flood waters surround The Half Nelson and Bootleg Hill Taproom
Flood waters surround The Half Nelson and Bootleg Hill Taproom KC McGinnis / The Washington Post / Getty

But it hasn't always been like that. Here are the roads before the floods.

Peterson paper.
Peterson paper. Google Maps
Advertisement

In June, barriers dividing the road from the Mississippi River in West Alton, Missouri, are no longer so clear.

A man pumps gas as floodwaters from the Mississippi River swells onto a gas station parking lot on June 7, 2019 in West Alton, Missouri. Residents along Mississippi river are bracing for the expected arrival of the crest at near record levels on Friday.
A man pumps gas as floodwaters from the Mississippi River swells onto a gas station parking lot in West Alton, Missouri. Michael B. Thomas / Getty

This is what it was like when the divide still existed.

West Alton.
West Alton, Missouri. Google Maps
Advertisement

In June, floodwaters rose and submerged parts of Alton, Illinois.

Floodwaters are seen along a submerged road on June 6, 2019 in Alton, Illinois. Residents along the Mississippi River are bracing for the expected arrival of the crest at near-record levels on Friday.
Floodwaters are seen along a submerged road in Alton, Illinois. Michael B. Thomas / Getty

Normally, it's a busy arterial road.

Alton
Alton, Missouri. Google Maps
Advertisement

And what looks to be a scene from a post-apocalyptic film is actually ....

Workers ferry supplies through floodwater from the Mississippi River across Highway 100 to Ardent Mills on May 31, 2019 in Alton, Illinois.
Workers ferry supplies in Alton, Illinois. Scott Olson / Getty

... just a mill beside a flooded main road.

Alton, Illinois
Alton, Illinois. Google Maps
Advertisement

After the floods, a boat is the best way to get home in West Alton, Missouri.

Residents use a boat to get back to a home as floodwater from the Mississippi River continues to rise on June 1, 2019 in West Alton, Missouri. The middle-section of the country has been experiencing major flooding since mid-March especially along the Missouri, Arkansas, and Mississippi Rivers. Towns along the Mississippi River have been experiencing the longest stretch of major flooding from the river in nearly a century.
Residents use a boat to get back to a home in West Alton, Missouri. Scott Olson / Getty

Before the floods, the local shops were merely a drive away.

5d3efcba100a24437b6a9023 750 563
West Alton, Missouri. Google Maps
Advertisement

In June, much of Foley, Missouri, was overtaken by the Mississippi River.

Floodwater from the Mississippi River has overtaken much of the town on June 1, 2019 in Foley, Missouri. The middle-section of the country has been experiencing major flooding since mid-March especially along the Missouri, Arkansas, and Mississippi Rivers. Towns along the Mississippi River have been experiencing the longest stretch of major flooding from the river in nearly a century.
Foley, Missouri. Scott Olson / Getty

Things looked so different on the dry ground before.

Foley, Missouri
Foley, Missouri. Google Maps
Advertisement

In 1941, Congress approved a plan called the Yazoo Backwater Project, to deal with these floods. It was meant to build pumps, levees, and canals to drain flooded areas.

Midwest floods.
Midwest floods. Nathan Willis

Source: Business Insider

But the pumps never eventuated due to delays. And in 2008, the EPA vetoed the pumps, because of fears it would threaten wetlands and wildlife.

An island of cars in West Alton, Missouri.
An island of cars in West Alton, Missouri. Michael B. Thomas / Getty

Source: Business Insider

Advertisement

In April, the EPA said it was reconsidering. But there have been no further developments.

Midwest flooding.
This is one sign demanding the pumps. Nathan Willis.

Source: Business Insider

Parking lots in Barnhart, Missouri, are no drier than the roads.

A car drives through rising floodwater from the Mississippi River on May 31, 2019 in Barnhart, Missouri.
A car drives through rising floodwater from the Mississippi River in Barnhart, Missouri. Scott Olson / Getty
Advertisement

It's usually a good place to park for a meal.

Holties
Barnhart, Missouri. Google Maps

Floodwaters are receding in the Midwest, but it could take months before many areas are completely back to normal. Until then, boats may remain the favored method of transportation.

flood flooding flooded midwest illinois farmers farm field
Flooded fields around Kaskaskia, Ill., on Monday, July 1, 2019. Zbigniew Bzdak/Chicago Tribune/TNS via Getty Images
Politics Weather
Advertisement
Close icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. It indicates a way to close an interaction, or dismiss a notification.