Daily Staff Writer

From top to bottom:

1. Ames locals and residents from around the area joined hands and built dikes, filled and placed sand bags and protected many properties from great damage during the flood that hit Ames Monday.

2. Gary Thompson, the owner of Swift Stop on South Duff Avenue, stands guard over his gas station as the rising flood waters threaten his establishment.

3. Beulah Lee stands on her front porch watching the flood waters approach the steps of her East Lincolnway house for the second time in her life. This time although her house is protected by a sump pump, her basement is nice and dry.

4. This dike, constructed from the hard work of many community volunteers, protected area businesses along South Dayton Avenue from the rising flood waters of the South Skunk River.