Thirty foot all of water raging towards beardstown, Illinois as the levee broke under the tremendous pressure on April 18, 1922. The Illinois River at flood stage, the highest ever known rapidly poured in the lowlands at the right. In foreground are the C.B. & Q. railroad tracks. The last connecting link between Beardstown and the outside world, just washed away. Photo was taken by Norman W. Alley of International Newsreel Staff. (Photo by Bettmann Archive)
