10 Year Anniversary-Eastern Iowa Flood

[wxman1]

Late May and June was busy in Eastern Iowa in 2008. This week/weekend marks 10 years since the flood of '08. Cedar Rapids was obviously hit hard but so were numerous towns along the Cedar and Iowa rivers. I have said for a few years now...the flood was the best thing to happen to CR as it served as the catalyst for redevelopment downtown and along the river. KCRG will be hosting an event on the 13th with a special broadcast that evening.

http://www.kcrg.com/content/news/Ep...ring-influence-from-2008-Flood-482731861.html

 

[Stewo]

Late May and June was busy in Eastern Iowa in 2008. This week/weekend marks 10 years since the flood of '08. Cedar Rapids was obviously hit hard but so were numerous towns along the Cedar and Iowa rivers. I have said for a few years now...the flood was the best thing to happen to CR as it served as the catalyst for redevelopment downtown and along the river. KCRG will be hosting an event on the 13th with a special broadcast that evening.

http://www.kcrg.com/content/news/Ep...ring-influence-from-2008-Flood-482731861.html

I did flood duty down in Burlington. Corn fields looked like oceans. On windy days, the were literally white caps on the waves. Truly an incredible sight.

 

[BillBrasky4Cy]

I did flood duty down in Burlington. Corn fields looked like oceans. On windy days, the were literally white caps on the waves. Truly an incredible sight.

I was deployed to Iraq and seeing all of the online footage/coverage was pretty mind blowing. Basically everyone who wasn't deployed ended up on flood duty in the Des Moines area.

 

[laminak]

Late May and June was busy in Eastern Iowa in 2008. This week/weekend marks 10 years since the flood of '08. Cedar Rapids was obviously hit hard but so were numerous towns along the Cedar and Iowa rivers. I have said for a few years now...the flood was the best thing to happen to CR as it served as the catalyst for redevelopment downtown and along the river. KCRG will be hosting an event on the 13th with a special broadcast that evening.

http://www.kcrg.com/content/news/Ep...ring-influence-from-2008-Flood-482731861.html

Is there an update on the flood wall protection? I haven't heard much about that in the ten years and somewhat from a few years ago when the smaller flood hit.

 

[Stewo]

I was deployed to Iraq and seeing all of the online footage/coverage was pretty mind blowing. Basically everyone who wasn't deployed ended up on flood duty in the Des Moines area.

Yep. We started out in Des Moines in the Birdland area and just west of North High School. That was for only about 3 days, then we convoyed out to Burlington. Keep in mind that we were based out of Council Bluffs. We had to drive from one side of the state to the other. The 133 must have been too busy with the Iowa City/Cedar Rapids area to go south.

 

[wxman1]

Is there an update on the flood wall protection? I haven't heard much about that in the ten years and somewhat from a few years ago when the smaller flood hit.

Not much that I have heard. Basically they are still fighting the Army Corps on how they rank needs for funding based on population and stuff. The way I understand it the money is there but the Army Corps has a priority system that puts smaller towns like CR at a disadvantage compared to larger cities. Or at least this is how the politicians have explained it.

I did flood duty down in Burlington. Corn fields looked like oceans. On windy days, the were literally white caps on the waves. Truly an incredible sight.

Everything about it was surreal. I was intern at KCRG at the time and that was a very cool and eye opening experience. We also had my orientation at ISU a few days before it and nearly could not get there or back due to the Iowa river flooding at highway 30 west of Meskwaki. The fire department was using pumper trucks to pump water from one side into the median and then when that was full out the other side to try and keep the road open.

 

[Stewo]

Everything about it was surreal. I was intern at KCRG at the time and that was a very cool and eye opening experience. We also had my orientation at ISU a few days before it and nearly could not get there or back due to the Iowa river flooding at highway 30 west of Meskwaki. The fire department was using pumper trucks to pump water from one side into the median and then when that was full out the other side to try and keep the road open.

I honestly thought I80 was going to flood at a couple different places around the DM area.

 

[wxman1]

I honestly thought I80 was going to flood at a couple different places around the DM area.

I believe 380 did get closed for a bit at the Iowa River. It was also the only way across town in CR as Edgewood was closed and I think 30 got closed briefly at the Cedar.

 

[CascadeClone]

Is there an update on the flood wall protection? I haven't heard much about that in the ten years and somewhat from a few years ago when the smaller flood hit.

Sort of. There's no short summary possible. Will do my best. Our biz is located in a flood zone, was flooded to the top of the first floor in 2008. Because of that, the city sent some folks to brief us and get our support a few months ago. So this is what they told us:

First, they have done some work on the south end of town - there are big berm walls down by Czech Village to protect NewBo area. At least on the east side. Some of it. That is most of what has been done already. They are also working on putting gates in the storm sewers to prevent the river from backing up thru the storm sewers from underneath. This was a big problem in some places last time.

The Corps proposed a flood wall only on the east side, and only protecting the Quaker plant, leaving the lake to the flood waters. This would also abandon the west side, using it as "cannon fodder" for the river basically. Of course the city couldn't allow the west side to go to hell, too many angry people. So they are going to put up a big honking berm to protect it. That in turn puts the screws to the low areas north of downtown, which are unprotected and would now get the brunt.

So the city is trying to convince the Corps to move the flood wall to include Cedar lake and the area north of downtown. It's more $$, but not lots more. The City wanted our support for that change. "Would you like to be protected, or not?" Well, duh.

Meanwhile, the Corps is indeed de-prioritizing the CR project, as their cost-benefit calculations make CR look like it isn't worth it compared to other projects. Grassley and others were lobbying to change the formula on cost-benefit, so CR could get the cash, which is indeed already approved. But the Corps can only spend it when they are ready.

After all this here is the kicker -- the timeline on all this? Some work starts in the next 5 years, best case it would be done in 10. LOL. We hope to grow our business enough to be moved out to better digs in <5 years.

Anyway this is how I remember it, and I was focused on how it impacts our location, sorry if I have some details wrong. I think they have a website with updates, will try to find it.

 

[CascadeClone]

here is the city website:
<http://www.cedar-rapids.org/local_g...ic_works/cedar_river_flood_control_system.php>

The change they wanted us to support was changing the solid green wall into the dotted light blue wall.

You can also see below the timelines and the things that are already done.

 

[VeloClone]

here is the city website:
<http://www.cedar-rapids.org/local_g...ic_works/cedar_river_flood_control_system.php>

The change they wanted us to support was changing the solid green wall into the dotted light blue wall.

You can also see below the timelines and the things that are already done.

It seems kind of silly to be adding length to protect (mostly) a lake. After all with the narrowness of most of the wall/levee protection system anything you can do to provide width means that there can be a lot more volume of water before the wall/levees are overcome.

 

[Rabbuk]

I sandbagged the hospital with thousands of other people with water up to my shoulders. Most surreal experience of my life. The bounceback has been good outside of the time check area.

 

[Entropy]

I didn't live in CR during the flood, but I did live in Mason City (I actually lived in Plymouth, NE of Mason City). I think I have pictures from that time period somewhere, but they are hard to find.
Here's one I have from Beaver Creek, which flows into the Shell Rock.

All the rivers were flooding up there, and they flow into the Cedar.

 

[BCClone]

I didn't live in CR during the flood, but I did live in Mason City (I actually lived in Plymouth, NE of Mason City). I think I have pictures from that time period somewhere, but they are hard to find.
Here's one I have from Beaver Creek, which flows into the Shell Rock.

All the rivers were flooding up there, and they flow into the Cedar.

Yeah, that’s when the water plant flooded. My sister had to drive to my place to shower and do some laundry. Get 10-15 miles west of mason and you get the Iowa, Des Moines and even blue earth rivers. Clear lake is the divide it seems.

 

[Entropy]

Yeah, that’s when the water plant flooded. My sister had to drive to my place to shower and do some laundry. Get 10-15 miles west of mason and you get the Iowa, Des Moines and even blue earth rivers. Clear lake is the divide it seems.

I was teaching summer classes at the time, and we ended up having to cancel class for several days, due to the water being down and bridges being unsafe to travel over. It was crazy.

 

[wxman1]

I sandbagged the hospital with thousands of other people with water up to my shoulders. Most surreal experience of my life. The bounceback has been good outside of the time check area.

I was down there too. What is now the parking ramp at the corner of 10th and mt vernon/8th was not there or in the early stages of construction. Thinking back wading through water up to our shoulders to get inside the hospital though the emergency room that was being evacuated and putting sandbags against the glass windows inside the building to hold back some pressure was maybe not the greatest idea but we just did it.

I also remember walking around the night before it began to overflow the banks downtown and people were clearing stuff out of their stores downtown. The water was just starting to get to the deck of the bridges downtown. 12 hours later I would have been submerged in water.

Shortly after it KCRG and the Gazette made a book of pictures and documentary called Epic Surge. I have copies of both and will have to dig them out this week.

 

[VeloClone]

I was down there too. What is now the parking ramp at the corner of 10th and mt vernon/8th was not there or in the early stages of construction. Thinking back wading through water up to our shoulders to get inside the hospital though the emergency room that was being evacuated and putting sandbags against the glass windows inside the building to hold back some pressure was maybe not the greatest idea but we just did it.

I also remember walking around the night before it began to overflow the banks downtown and people were clearing stuff out of their stores downtown. The water was just starting to get to the deck of the bridges downtown. 12 hours later I would have been submerged in water.

Shortly after it KCRG and the Gazette made a book of pictures and documentary called Epic Surge. I have copies of both and will have to dig them out this week.

Its amazing how fast it can go from bothersome to catastrophic. I remember sitting out behind the place where I worked in Ames on a bright sunny day back in 1990. We put a pop can in the back parking lot and said we would start bagging if it got up to the can. It was creeping up but it wasn't more than a few hours after it hit the can that it had passed the building and was cresting several feet up on Duff with the creek and the river meeting there even though they usually met about 3/4 of a mile away. We felt foolish waiting that morning, but considering how high it crested any effort we put in would have been for naught. About all we could have done would have been moved more equipment out and saved it if we had started earlier. We had no information as to how high it would get and how quickly it would get there. The dry, sunny day fooled us all.

 

[wxman1]

Its amazing how fast it can go from bothersome to catastrophic. I remember sitting out behind the place where I worked in Ames on a bright sunny day back in 1990. We put a pop can in the back parking lot and said we would start bagging if it got up to the can. It was creeping up but it wasn't more than a few hours after it hit the can that it had passed the building and was cresting several feet up on Duff with the creek and the river meeting there even though they usually met about 3/4 of a mile away. We felt foolish waiting that morning, but considering how high it crested any effort we put in would have been for naught. About all we could have done would have been moved more equipment out and saved it if we had started earlier. We had no information as to how high it would get and how quickly it would get there. The dry, sunny day fooled us all.

All of the local news stations just did live "wall to wall" coverage all day and night. One of the KCRG reporters at the time (he is now a PR/Spokesman for Alliant) grabbed a traffic cone and set it a few feet behind is live shot. They kept going back to him and it showing how fast and far the water was rising. If I remember him correctly they packaged it up and and that cone won him an Emmy.

 

[chuckd4735]

I assisted with some damage assessment in rural Linn County after the flooding had receded.

Ill never forget the first place we went, I said "why isn't their any water lines on the buildings". The response was "you don't see water lines when the entire structure was under water".

 

[BCClone]

Its amazing how fast it can go from bothersome to catastrophic. I remember sitting out behind the place where I worked in Ames on a bright sunny day back in 1990. We put a pop can in the back parking lot and said we would start bagging if it got up to the can. It was creeping up but it wasn't more than a few hours after it hit the can that it had passed the building and was cresting several feet up on Duff with the creek and the river meeting there even though they usually met about 3/4 of a mile away. We felt foolish waiting that morning, but considering how high it crested any effort we put in would have been for naught. About all we could have done would have been moved more equipment out and saved it if we had started earlier. We had no information as to how high it would get and how quickly it would get there. The dry, sunny day fooled us all.

That was 93 wasn’t it?