Cedar Rapids, the state's second-largest city, is awaiting its turn as the big mass of floodwater surges downstream. With the Cedar River rapidly rising, the mayor of Cedar Rapids promised residents Friday that the city would not be caught "off guard" like it was during 2008 flooding.
The river should crest at 25.3 feet on Monday — well below the June 2008 crest of 31 feet — but still the city's second-highest level on record, the National Weather Service said. Records go back to at least the early 1850s.
Mayor Ron Corbett said there was still time for residents to protect their homes and businesses from flooding caused by the Cedar River, which is expected to crest sometime Monday.
"We still have three days," he said. "We can save a lot in three days."
More rain fell Thursday night and earlier Friday, and the weather service said the threat for flash flooding remained high through the day. Noting the possibility of even more rain in the area, forecasters said at least moderate flooding was likely in several areas.
The town of Osage reached a record high crest Friday and the town of Shell Rock should reach a record high crest Saturday.
In Cedar Rapids, Corbett said the community was better prepared for this week's flooding than it was in 2008, when flooding dislocated more than 18,000 people and caused more than $2 billion in damage to the city.
"We were caught off guard a little bit last time," he said at a Friday morning news conference. "And this time we’re not."
Portable dams, barriers and pumps were being deployed in Cedar Rapids. Though the water isn't expected to rise as high as in 2008, street flooding was expected in several areas, including the downtown core. The city said 14,000 sandbags have been ordered for public use and officials intend to close several low-lying roads.
"We're very concerned about the downtown," said Mike Goldberg, director of Linn County Emergency Management.
Elsewhere, authorities were spending Friday mobilizing resources to handle flooding that has already forced evacuations in several communities throughout northeastern Iowa.
Cedar Falls officials have been talking to residents in low-lying neighborhoods about the rising waters and their option to evacuate. The dike system protecting downtown Cedar Falls was expected to hold, but Public Safety Director Jeff Olson said it will be patrolled. The weather service said the river was expected to crest at 99.8 feet Saturday afternoon — a little more than 2 feet below the record crest of 102.1 feet in June 2008."
In essence, this article highlights that this year's flooding is coming dangerously close to the flooding that occurred roughly eight years today but is not expected to reach that high. However, the records dating back around 150 years are being broken by the recent height of the river. The majority this corn-raising state is being bombarded by levels of water that were not expected to return in such a short span, which in the past major flooding like this would occur within 10-20 years.
By: Gabriel Evans
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2016/09/23/iowa-bracing-significant-flooding/90887050/
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