Thousands Flee As Iowa Prepares For Colossal Flood

• Iowa is in for a hard fight against the rising waters of the Cedar River.
• This is the biggest flood since 2008.
• The waters are expected to continue to rise to 23ft by the end of the day today.
• If the water reaches 26ft the control measures for the city will fail.

The people of Cedar Rapids, Iowa are trapped in the middle of the biggest flood since 2008. The water levels continue to rise and are expected to reach a crest of 23ft by later in the day. The last time Iowa fell victim to a flood of this caliber, 2008, it cost the state $10 billion in damages and took one life.

The source of the flood is coming from the Cedar River which continues to swell. Now reaching depths of 22ft. A growing list of streets and highways are already closed down due to flooding. In an attempt to get ahead of the water the citizens of Cedar Rapids laid down some 250,000 sands bags over a 10-mile span.

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To put the flooding into some perspective, 16ft of water is considered to be major flooding.

The people of the city have been constructing flood control measure for the past 2 – 3 days in an effort to contain the rising waters. So far, they seem to be working. The only problem is, the control measure only account for 26ft of water. By the end of the day today, they are expected to crest at 23ft. If the water level continues to rise they may be trouble.

However, the major problem comes after the water stops rising. Water levels naturally rise a lot quicker than they fall. That means that the city of Cedar Rapids could be in a perpetual state of caution for the next few weeks, as they wait for the water to recede.

So far, the city seems to have the flooding under control. Now comes the waiting period. They must sit and wait to see if the water rises to 26ft or not.

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