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Description
In February of 2018, the City of Brantford declared a state of emergency due to floodwaters breaching the banks of the Grand River. Warm temperatures and rain caused the river ice to break up quickly during a mid-winter thaw which then caused ice jams in downtown Brantford. The residents say that they had not seen flooding like this in 40 plus years and numerous homes were flooded and hundreds of people were evacuated temporarily during the flooding. Given the severity of this natural disaster, I naturally had to go and see it for myself. I had only heard about the flooding the day after it occurred and by then the water had already subsided, but it left massive blocks of ice (some the size of small houses) all along the river's banks, which created a surreal landscape for me to work with.

In this photo, I am standing on top of a pile of ice blocks at least two meters above, what used to be a two-lane road that runs along the rivers edge.

Brantford, Ontario, Canada.

©James Hackland

Description
In February of 2018, the City of Brantford declared a state of emergency due to floodwaters breaching the banks of the Grand River. Warm temperatures and rain caused the river ice to break up quickly during a mid-winter thaw which then caused ice jams in downtown Brantford. The residents say that they had not seen flooding like this in 40 plus years and numerous homes were flooded and hundreds of people were evacuated temporarily during the flooding. Given the severity of this natural disaster, I naturally had to go and see it for myself. I had only heard about the flooding the day after it occurred and by then the water had already subsided, but it left massive blocks of ice (some the size of small houses) all along the river's banks, which created a surreal landscape for me to work with.

In this photo, I am standing on top of a pile of ice blocks at least two meters above, what used to be a two-lane road that runs along the rivers edge.

Brantford, Ontario, Canada.

©James Hackland