Severe Flooding in MidWest

[BrianG]

Hello all, in case people are unaware of what is going on over here in the MidWest, Iowa is experiencing SEVERE flooding due to the constant torrential rainfall the last few weeks.

The East side of Iowa (Mississippi River) is particularly hit hard with 25,000+ people dislocated out of their homes. Numerous businesses are shut down, and there is talk of raw sewage going into the river. At least one hospital that I know of has shut down and the patients are being transported here to Des Moines.

The Des Moines area is in so-so shape with the DSM river WAYY over the limits partially flooding the downtown area. This is mainly because a lake a little to the north is overflowing the spillway.

Despite my ~5 mile proximity from the DSM river, yours truly isn't doing all that bad. There is a creek about 1/4 mile away from my house ("4-mile creek") that is causing water to come up through the basement floor, but it's only a trickle and is managable. Luckily, as fast as it rises, the water falls off as long as there is no fresh rain - it helps that there is no lake dumping into it.

It's going to be MONTHS before Iowa sees anything resembling order. Even if it doesn't rain the rest of the summer, it will be a long time before the water table drops enough.

I don't know how many of you are religious, but prayers would be welcome for the many people who have had their homes and lives flooded away. And this is in the metro areas that are somewhat prepared after the flood of '93. I shudder to think about how the smaller towns downstream are going to fare.

I could go on and on with details about this, but I think I've said enough. If you want to know more, check out the local news website: http://www.desmoinesregister.com

[rchippie]

Originally Posted by BrianG

Hello all, in case people are unaware of what is going on over here in the MidWest, Iowa is experiencing SEVERE flooding due to the constant torrential rainfall the last few weeks.

The East side of Iowa (Mississippi River) is particularly hit hard with 25,000+ people dislocated out of their homes. Numerous businesses are shut down, and there is talk of raw sewage going into the river. At least one hospital that I know of has shut down and the patients are being transported here to Des Moines.

The Des Moines area is in so-so shape with the DSM river WAYY over the limits partially flooding the downtown area. This is mainly because a lake a little to the north is overflowing the spillway.

Despite my ~5 mile proximity from the DSM river, yours truly isn't doing all that bad. There is a creek about 1/4 mile away from my house ("4-mile creek") that is causing water to come up through the basement floor, but it's only a trickle and is managable. Luckily, as fast as it rises, the water falls off as long as there is no fresh rain - it helps that there is no lake dumping into it.

It's going to be MONTHS before Iowa sees anything resembling order. Even if it doesn't rain the rest of the summer, it will be a long time before the water table drops enough.

I don't know how many of you are religious, but prayers would be welcome for the many people who have had their homes and lives flooded away. And this is in the metro areas that are somewhat prepared after the flood of '93. I shudder to think about how the smaller towns downstream are going to fare.

I could go on and on with details about this, but I think I've said enough. If you want to know more, check out the local news website: http://www.desmoinesregister.com

Brian i hope you & everyone else stays safe.

[BrianG]

Thanks. I think I'll be ok - it's the thousands who have lost everything that I feel for. Before things stabilized, I got a little "anxious" thinking that I was gonna lose everything too. It's a really crappy feeling knowing your livelihood is at stake and there's not a whole heck of a lot you can do about it except hope for the best. You feel angry and helpless, and it's not pleasant. I can only imagine what it's like for those who DID lose everything.

And even if you have flood insurance, it only covers sewage and basement drain backup. Insurance for "real" flooding is available ONLY through the government (FEMA), is $5,000 per year, and takes between 30-45 days to go into affect. You can imagine how many people have this. I talked to my insurance rep just to know my options (I'm basically SOL if things go downhill), and she said she's only helped process like 4 FEMA policies in 7 years. It's sad.

[aqwut]

lots of crazy events have been happening everywhere... it's really sad to lose everything..

[BrianG]

I know; heatwave on the East Coast, snow on the west. Not a pleasant year...

[rchippie]

Brian i could only imagine how all those people feel. Thats why i feel very blessed for what i have.

[mkrusedc]

Brian my prayers are with you and yours. I can relate what you are experiencing after going through Katrina. Things can be replaced. People can't. Good luck and stay safe.

Mark

[bdebde]

Hope you stay high and dry there Brian.

I am a bit more used to flooding, I live right next to a river in the northwest (always rains). I have a sump pump in the basement, it gets water in there about half of the year or more.

We are going thru the other side of what is causing or contributing to your areas rain problems - the big high pressure system parked over TX/SE US. We've had only .26" of rain at my house in the past 8 going on 9 weeks. I learned in '99 that no matter how much water I put on the yard, I can't save it under these conditions and concentrate on keeping shrubs and other plants viable.

When I moved to LA in '87 from AL, a geologist sat me down and we looked at some topo maps - she advised me on areas where to buy my house based on GL elevations, turned out to be a smart move - over the next 12 yrs, hurricane Juan and numerous tropical storms/depressions, I was never flooded but was confined to the neighborhood due to high water twice. I went through same exercise with topo info before buying here in Houston and haven't seen a drop even near the house.

I spent a lot of time manning pumps and helping to sand bag homes that were not so fortunate on the south side of I10 in Slidell, we saved some, others we just couldn't. The oil companies loaned pumping equipment, but we had to provide the manpower. I am familar with what others are going thru and will have to go thru and wish them all the best.

Your life and the safety of your family is paramount right now, material things can and will be replaced with time. Stay safe!

[lincpimp]

Originally Posted by Duster_360

We are going thru the other side of what is causing or contributing to your areas rain problems - the big high pressure system parked over TX/SE US. We've had only .26" of rain at my house in the past 8 going on 9 weeks. I learned in '99 that no matter how much water I put on the yard, I can't save it under these conditions and concentrate on keeping shrubs and other plants viable.

When I moved to LA in '87 from AL, a geologist sat me down and we looked at some topo maps - she advised me on areas where to buy my house based on GL elevations, turned out to be a smart move - over the next 12 yrs, hurricane Juan and numerous tropical storms/depressions, I was never flooded but was confined to the neighborhood due to high water twice. I went through same exercise with topo info before buying here in Houston and haven't seen a drop even near the house.

I spent a lot of time manning pumps and helping to sand bag homes that were not so fortunate on the south side of I10 in Slidell, we saved some, others we just couldn't. The oil companies loaned pumping equipment, but we had to provide the manpower. I am familar with what others are going thru and will have to go thru and wish them all the best.

Your life and the safety of your family is paramount right now, material things can and will be replaced with time. Stay safe!

Many thanks for the help, Duster. I live in slidell, and my house did not flood (luckily), my shop did (5.5ft) and it was fun to clean up...

Good luck Brian, and I hope that everyone there does as well as they can!

I am in the Cedar Rapids area and have been downtown a few times in the past few days. I was only a few months old during the flood of '93 and don't know much about it. But I know that what is happening now is much worse than '93. All of downtown CR is flooded. I think that every business downtown has water on their first floor. Words can't describe how bad things are downtown.

They are saying there is close to $740 million in damage so far in Cedar Rapids

Thankfully, our house is far from the flooding and the only thing we've had to do is cut back our water use to drinking only, so no showers.

Here a link to a site with pictures of the damage

http://www.gazetteonline.com/

[rabosi]

Well even if not religious like myself, we can still wish well and be supportive in any way we can. Hopefully fema does a better job with this one. Good luck to you and all those folks out there.

ps. I hope people and politicians around the world start taking global warming seriously. I don't care who or what's causing it but it's happening. Just take a look at the polar ice caps 50 yrs ago compared to now.

[lutach]

Brian,

We got some of your rain and it was actually like a hurricane (I've been through a few of those), as trees were down, branches fell every where and we had no electricity for a day. The heat wave was bad also and happened before the storm hit us. My daughter had 2 early release from school, because they don't have A/C.

[TexasSP]

My prayers are with all of you Brian. It is indescribable going through that kind of upheaval I know. Don't any of you forget that us here in the community will lend a hand if in need so never hesitate to ask.

[mkrusedc]

Originally Posted by TexasSP

My prayers are with all of you Brian. It is indescribable going through that kind of upheaval I know. Don't any of you forget that us here in the community will end a hand if in need so never hesitate to ask.

Excellent idea. Just lets me know. Alot of people helped us for Katrina. I am in.