River flooding continues to threaten neighborhoods in Saint Paul and Minneapolis

By Ken Avidor

Saint Paul, Minn.

Day 1: Sunday, June 22, 2014

The Mississippi River is flooding in Saint Paul. We’ve been getting a lot of rain this year and all that rainwater is draining into the river. My wife Roberta and I have been sketching the changing landscape in Saint Paul as water replaces land. Barriers and sandbags are blocking streets and police are warning people to stay out of flooding areas.

I sketched the rising water on the Lowertown Landing in my small journal:

Roberta sketched this scene along the river at the Upper Landing:

The river has risen dramatically. Roberta and I decided we would document the flood all day in our journals.

Roberta returned to the Upper Landing to document the change:

I also sketched the flooding along the Upper Landing and Raspberry Island:

We biked over the Wabasha Bridge to sketch the flooding on Harriet Island. This is Roberta’s sketch:

This is my sketch of the flooding on Harriet Island:

It rained again, so we had to stop sketching for a few hours. I biked around Lowertown after 5 p.m. to see how the flooding was affecting our neighborhood. The flood is just beginning to creep into Lowertown:

The forecast is for more flooding. Roberta and I will continue to document this event.

Day 2: Monday, June 23, 2014

A state of emergency has been declared in Saint Paul. I did some more sketching along the river and Lowertown:

Ken and Roberta Avidor are members of the Urban Sketchers Twin Cities.

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