The Chris Moeller Archives

The deluge

Sorry for the delay in blogging. I was in Iowa City and Cedar Rapids with several days off, and I stumbled onto an international news story there, but without internet access at the ready. City officials and residents of Des Moines have to be breathing a sigh of relief over the impact on our community relative to what's been happening in eastern Iowa along the Cedar and Iowa Rivers. In Cedar Rapids, where flood stage is 12 feet, waters climbed above the previous record of 20 feet to a preposterous mark of 31.3 feet. Thirty-nine hundred homes were under water, effecting over $700 million in combined property values, and as the river waters just start to recede this weekend, a monumental cleanup effort will only then begin.

In Iowa City, the water level is likewise staggering-- holding steady at 31.5 feet. (The old record was 28.52 ft.) Sixteen university buildings are effected, including the arts campus, Hancher Auditorium, and the Memorial Union, and the city is physically divided into two parts save for an open stretch of Interstate 80. The river at Iowa City is believed to be reaching its highest level though today, a couple days earlier and 18 inches lower than previously expected.

I traveled over downtown Cedar Rapids near the time of its peak water level late Friday morning en route to help a friend with some non-weather-related home repairs, but by 2pm, we got word that Interstate 380 between CR and Iowa City was going to be closing at 6 o'clock that day, and then would likely not re-open again for 7 to 10 days. At the time, we didn't know if there would be an alternate route back to Des Moines, and when that information crystallized later in the evening, it turned out it would have involved several hundred additional miles, being re-routed to the north on a pathway through the communities of Waterloo (where there was also tremendous flooding) and Ames. Interstate 80 traffic from Chicago westbound is having to be re-routed to part of that same stretch due to flooding in Cedar County, up first to Dubuque from the Quad Cities before passing through Waterloo and crossing south down I-35 to Des Moines.

In Cedar Rapids, residents will remain limited in their water usage for several days. They were already being asked on Thursday to limit usage to drinking water only, foregoing showers and baths, and naturally any lawn care or car washing. Paper plates were being suggested in lieu of dishes that require hand or machine washing.

My brother, dog-sitting for a month in Iowa City/Coralville, is now unable to get to his work in Cedar Rapids, and would be restricted regardless in reaching his home. The one-way road passing in front of his apartment complex has been closed, and though his possessions are no doubt safe at the property, particularly being on a higher floor, entering the building would likely require parking on a back street and traipsing through neighboring lawns.

You can't say enough about the rescue, medical, and environmental health efforts in eastern Iowa, and the residents as well, who it seemed were keeping remarkably cool heads. The news coverage I witnessed was exemplary, in particular that of the locally-owned and operated Cedar Rapids Gazette and its television sister, KCRG. We spent hours upon hours (Aaron and me, that is) fixated on the anchored broadcast coverage of Bruce Aune and Beth Malicki. Aune--pronounced ow'nee-- was already an old warhorse when I moved from the Cedar Rapids television market in 1993 (coincidentally right around the time of the most previous extensive flooding). He shaved off his mustache about the time Tom Selleck did, but he's still top-notch.

Next in the floodwater's sights, regrettably, are dozens of downstream communities in southeastern Iowa such as Burlington and Columbus Junction, the latter being the unfortunate town located at the confluence of the Cedar and Iowa Rivers.

Dad, if you're able to read this in Moscow (Moscow, Russia-- not wet Moscow, Iowa along the Cedar)--Happy Father's Day. The house and the dog are safe. Although your other son is falling behind in the lawn-mowing.

posted by CM @ 1:17 PM