Cedar Rapids flooding
- Thread starter Messi
- Start date
That's crazy. I live in SE (by Mt Vernon Rd) and it absolutely poured for 30-40 minutes straight right around 6:00
Serious. I was driving over there for a meeting around quarter after and even with wipers on high I could barely see. The puddles were ridiculous. I was worried about hydrolocking my car.
'93 was a big deal but downtown didn't get very wet, if at all. Damage was mostly residential, which was horrible, but I don't feel like business or commerce was disrupted.
In the grand scheme of things, my question is quite insignificant, so I'll ask here instead of calling an expert in the CR area that is dealing with much more important and pressing things.
I have a creek near my property. My home is relatively high compared to the creek. It is not in a flood plain, but is close to being in the 500 year mark (within a couple feet). There is no record of it having water in the basement.
That being said - right now the creek is pretty high and over the banks a bit. A couple weeks ago it was pretty high and came about halfway up to my house. Granted, it probably needed another 5 feet of depth until it would make it into the house. When the Cedar crests this weekend, does the creek I am near also crest? Or is that completely different and won't be impacted.
I am near Dry Creek, which flows south, then east then south - joins up with Indian creek and then finally into the cedar south of town.
Just want to be as prepared as possible.
I have a creek near my property. My home is relatively high compared to the creek. It is not in a flood plain, but is close to being in the 500 year mark (within a couple feet). There is no record of it having water in the basement.
That being said - right now the creek is pretty high and over the banks a bit. A couple weeks ago it was pretty high and came about halfway up to my house. Granted, it probably needed another 5 feet of depth until it would make it into the house. When the Cedar crests this weekend, does the creek I am near also crest? Or is that completely different and won't be impacted.
I am near Dry Creek, which flows south, then east then south - joins up with Indian creek and then finally into the cedar south of town.
Just want to be as prepared as possible.
I'm assuming it flooded in 2008?
I would be really surprised if it backed up that far from the Cedar. I think your best bet it to use the interactive maps, (here http://water.weather.gov/ahps2/inundation/index.php?gage=cidi4) and find your property. You can adjust the projected height and should be able to tell at what stage the water would reach you.
My guess (based on no expertise) is that you'll be fine from the flooded river. But if there is a another heavy rain event (Sunday) the creeks won't drain as quickly as usual and flash flooding would be more of an issue. That was a big problem in '08 when we got 6+" of rain on the day of the crest.
Not good. Cedar river in wloo/cf expected to crest near 2008 level. The forecast for heavy rain tomorrow night into Sunday is making me really nervous
Judging by your description we live very close to each other. If the creek has not bothered you yet it won't.
The house I grew up in was in a flash flood plane and had a small creek on the property line in our back yard the developers did an amazing job when the built the streets and made the lots.
On a couple of occasions our street would flash flood and their would be rivers of water on all of the property lines between houses emptying the water into the creek behind our house. The creek which I could hop over as a kid would come all the way up about 10-15 feet from our house so we were basically surrounded by water for a few hours until the water went down. We never had a drop of water in our basement. It was amazing.
OPPD nuclear plant had an inflatable wall that was punctured by an errant forklift during missouri flood.
Currently down at Ellis Park with 100 new friends filling sandbags.
It depends on where your creek empties in to---does it empty into the Cedar? And if it is a creek that crests like a river or if it just floods.
I was just talking to my parents. They live on a creek that feeds into the Wapsie River. The creek is as high as it has ever been tonight. Their creek acts quite a bit like a river.
You can go on to google maps and get a pretty good idea on what feeds into your creek and/or where it starts and where it empty outs in. If you haven't lived in your house very long, you will soon become familiar with what types of rain and where the rain happens and how it will affect you.
Going to start the day off by sand bagging our church downtown and end it late tomorrow night helping TCR move everything out of the basement.
Not true, especially taking the last several years into account. A significant number of gauges have had to be discontinued due to lack of funding with additional ones barely scraping by.
Can't speak to your specific situation but small creeks tend to crest then drop quickly after rains while moderate to large rivers like the Cedar take significantly longer to rise but hold above flood stage longer. Thus your crest, barring more significant rainfall, will likely be well before that of the Cedar.
