2008 Iowa Floods: Update 2

(Des Moines, IA, June 12, 2008) If I were not paying attention to news conferences, inquiries, and aerial views of flooding in order to write somewhat useful posts about the 2008 floods in Iowa, especially in Des Moines, I would barely be paying any attention at all. The flooding is local news and deserves the type of attention news media is giving to it. The flooding is also business news and will be mentioned in numerous articles about the rising cost or unavailability of goods due to water-caused delays or damages. The flooding is merely passing news in other context.

For me, on high ground and quite a distance from any streams or rivers, I spend my days trying to meet deadlines, worrying about the mold that grows relentlessly during summer in a poorly-ventilated bathroom, and enjoying the rain or sun, whatever the day may bring. I acknowledge the practical efforts of department heads and workers as they try to limit the damage of flooding. Yet, I am also looking forward to the flood waters going down and being able to start haranguing the elected officials again over their management of the city, the county, and the state. (I could keep pestering the autocrats even during the flooding, but few local people would pay attention right now and the civil servants who would take phone calls or read emails have more important things to handle right now.)

Rivers rushing down spillways, creeks climbing up embankments, and manhole covers being pushed away are all pictures or sights I’ve seen before. The houses in eastern Iowa shown underwater on last night’s television newscasts look the same as pictures of houses underwater in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. To me, the lesson from Katrina is one that should be remembered now. It is not always the main event that causes the most damage. The thunderstorm that dumped rain on Des Moines yesterday morning arrived at about the same time that the initial Saylorville Lake spillway water was reaching the downtown bridges. Storm sewers and a powerful river flow could not handle the additional rain water. This caused the water to go upwards, knocking off covers, and flooding Court Avenue near the river for a little bit.

Gov. Chet Culver held a press conference yesterday. Among the things he said was that 53 of the state’s 99 counties now have flooding and that 9 major rivers are flooding. I had been thinking about Elkader, which is a pretty town on the Turkey River in northeast Iowa. Culver had visited there earlier in the day. He said flood stage was 12 feet and the river crested at 31.

The crest at Saylorville Lake and along the Des Moines River is supposed to happen on Sunday, June 15th. Crests along the Cedar River, which runs through Cedar Falls and Cedar Rapids, are said to have already happened. I did not hear anything yesterday about the Iowa River, which runs through Iowa City and was previously claimed to be at record levels.

M.R. Field writes covers local events for AroundDesMoines.com. Here’s the link to the map above from University of Iowa.