North High School campus is flooded by the Des Moines River Saturday, June 14, 2008 after a levee broke in Des Moines. (Des Moines Register)
24,000 were forced to flee from Cedar Rapids.
The water crested in Cedar Rapids, Iowa today.
CNN reported:
The dark, filthy water that inundated the entire downtown of Iowa's second-largest city was receding Saturday after forcing 24,000 people to flee, but those who remained were being urged to take draconian measures to avoid overwhelming the city's only remaining drinking water source.
A sandbagging siege saved the last of the city's four collection wells from contamination by the record flood. But officials warned that if people didn't cut back on flushing toilets, taking showers and other nonessential uses, the town would be out of potable water in three to four days.
"Water is still our primary concern," said Pat Ball, the city's utilities director. "We're still using water at a greater rate than we're producing."
Closed downtown Des Moines bridges stand nearly under water on the Des Moines River Saturday, June 14, 2008. (Des Moines Register)
To the east of Des Moines the major flooding has not hit Iowa City yet but already the new University of Iowa Arts Buildings are half under water.
The rivers are expected to crest in Iowa City on Monday or Tuesday.
The Des Moines Register reported:
Even before the expected surge over the next few days, it is apparent that massive sandbagging efforts west of the river have proven futile. A person could swim in many of the relatively new, multi-million-dollar arts campus buildings.Iowa City is south and east of Cedar Rapids.
Only the top half of the Old Art Building is sticking out of the water. Art Building West, whose acclaimed architecture came at a $22 million price tag when it was opened in September 2006, has a stream flowing through its ground floor, to say nothing of the basement. Water is approximately waist-high at the Museum of Art.
Upstream, floodwaters are approximately chest high around the first floor of the university's massive fine-arts performance complex, which encompasses the Theatre Building, Hancher Auditorium, and the Voxman Music Building.
The confluence of the flooding from the Raccoon River (bottom) and the Des Moines River Saturday, June 14, 2008 in Des Moines. (Des Moines Register)
Senator John McCain issued a statement today on the flooding in Iowa.
KCCI reported:
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to all those impacted by the flooding throughout the Midwest," he said in a statement Saturday. "Cindy and I would like to extend our sympathies to all those who have lost loved ones, and stand ready to help those in the Midwest to recover and rebuild."Tigerhawk makes an observation.
Retire05 in the comments agrees.
UPDATE: Here is a link to host of charities where you can help those suffering in Iowa, via Instapundit.
If the feds had just taken more money from the private sector a long time ago the rain would have never fallen so hard.
ReplyDeleteAll have come
And all have passed
Think thee now are mightiest?
Can you will the rain to fall?
Wind to blow?
Turn spring to fall?
Even with your greatest power
You are less than bird and flower.
In a Lotus of the Indra
We are but a tiny ember.
Soon this age will pass away
Can you will your self to stay?
When the N.O. flooded, it was a racist plan to wipe out black people.
ReplyDeleteNow that white people are getting flooded, out, we need to investigate..who?
I heard a dimwit on Fox yesterday say that this reminded him of New Orleans. How?
ReplyDeleteOutside of being flooded, there is no looking, no people wandering the streets looking for meanness, no grocery carts being shoved through the water carrying stolen big screen TVs, no people sitting on the tops of their houses waiting on the goverment to come and get them, no police abandoning their posts, no Iowans bitching how the government and George Bush is failing them. There is not one damn thing, other than water, that is similar to New Orleans.
The streets in Des Moines are empty. People left when they were told to evacuate. They didn't whine, bitch, blame the government for the broken levees. They did what responsible people do in a crisis.
The actions of the people of Des Moines only makes the actions of the people of New Orleans look worse.
Good, strong people in Iowa.
ReplyDeleteI worked several years there and often would drive outside Cedar Rapids to the river to relax.
Many Iowans are salt of the earth. Corn everywhere, caring, loving people who helped anyone at a minutes notice and smarter than most city folk will ever be. Self reliant, purposed, common sense.
Boy how I detested going thru O'Hare though. What a nightmare that could be at times, blowing my weekends. I do not miss those connecting flights or crazy nights in Chi-town when flights were canceled and I'd be stuck in some cheap motel middle of night.
People of Iowa will pull thru with great strength and cooperation. They instinctively pull together and do not wait around for help.
In defense of Louisiana now. The people awakened after the fiasco of New Orleans. They voted in a new Governor and he has done more to change that state in a few months than happened in my lifetime to kick out the old school bayou boys.
It use to be one of the last states in ethics reform and places to do business. Since Bobby Jindal has been Governor he has righted the ship and the state is beginning to attract new business besides oil companies and gambling halls.
Outsiders may not know, but him winning was a major "change" and message by Louisianians to Democrats. It is the first serious step the state has taken since its founding to boot out corrupt government. They are now rated one of the best states in the nation due to ethics reforms legistlation he pushed foward during a special session.
The Democrats were trying to do business as usual. But he called them in, warned them about their past and that everyone in the state would know if they failed to do the right thing. They acted and are now moving forward. The turnover rate of replaced members was staggering. Every politician is running scared now after the failures of the Democrats.
He has the power of the people behind him and everyone knows it.
They were disgusted with the corrupt machine in south Louisiana. Next to Chi-town and New Jersey, south Louisiana has to be one of the most corrupt regions in the nation. Anything below Alexandria was a demarcation line for backdoor deals and family fortunes to be made off the taxpayors. From Edwin Edwards ripping off nuring homes for the elderly, to the two-bit hustlers and democrats that ripped off Katrina funds, the people finally got fed up.
With the new reforms in place and laws passed, lets hope their DA will now be empowered to clear out any leftover sleeze, including the slimes that backed Nagin.
Until New Orleans gets a true leader, not backed by the Democrat Slumlords, it will always be a second rate trash city.
I'm hoping somehow Jindal can influence greater change over New Orleans. But being realistic, that slush of lowlands has not changed since prostitutes first worked the Mississippi banks along the French Quarters.
Let the good times roll is their mantra and voodoo is often their answer. They got two bums down their stealing from the people on the religious side too. One of them was run out of Texas for his fraud and another was caught with prostitutes. Yet the last time I was back for a wedding, there they were on screen with their sleezy hands out robbing the people.
I'm hoping Jindal goes after them too.
I hope all the best for Iowa, made many good friendships there and for new hope in Louisiana as well. I hope the new Governor will give one of the best warm up speeches the Republicans have seen in a long time at the RNC. He blows Obama away easy.
How long until someone blames it on global warming and George Bush? I would love to hear one say, "George Bush hates white people."?
ReplyDeleteIowa City is not downstream from Cedar Rapids. Cedar Rapids is on the Cedar River, while Iowa City is on the Iowa River. The people that are really getting pasted are the ones in Columbus Junction, where the two rivers meet.
ReplyDeleteThoughts and prayers to all.
ReplyDeleteWhere is the link to send them support?
Thanks Leptopus- corrected.
ReplyDeleteWell, come on now -- a flood doesn't destroy everything within hundreds of miles. Granted, the Katrina debacle was mostly self-created and exacerbated, I don't see how a group of plucky people could have easily gotten out of that. Even the people helping had to be extra slow and careful to make sure they didn't turn into stranded victims.
ReplyDelete