13 June 2008
More Flooding Woes
Posted by Joy Bischoff under: Emergency Preparation; What's News .
Voluntary evacuations ordered for downtown Des Moines
DES MOINES, Iowa - Officials on Friday issued a voluntary evacuation order for much of downtown Des Moines and other areas bordering the Des Moines River.
Officials recommended that downtown residents and businesses evacuate parts of downtown on either side of the river by 6 p.m. Friday. Included are all areas in Des Moines’ 500-year floodplain.
The alert was prompted by rising river levels expected to peak at 8 p.m. Friday.
Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie says that they are asking for the evacuations “to err on the side of citizens and residents.”
The evacuation should begin immediately, Cownie says, and be completed by 6 p.m.
6 Comments so far...
T. Fan Says:
13 June 2008 at 12:43 pm.
Okay this is getting a little last days crazy.
Cavetrollhead Says:
13 June 2008 at 2:14 pm.
I want to go there in a pontoon boat and watch a drive in movie.
Just kidding I should make light of it- but wouldn’t that be cool?
Matt Says:
13 June 2008 at 2:15 pm.
Cave, I had a friend who went rafting in a flood and got his leg broken. I think you would have better luck in your pontoon. Sounds fun.
Benjamin Says:
13 June 2008 at 4:29 pm.
Iowa flood evacuations rise, losses seen in billions
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (Reuters) - Overflowing rivers in Iowa and other Midwest states forced evacuations and disrupted the region’s economy on Friday with fears of worse to come from fragile levees and more rain.
Iowa Gov. Chet Culver said the damage to his state could cost billions of dollars. Scores of bridges spanning nine overflowing rivers have been swept away or weakened.
“I have real concerns about our agricultural sector. I have toured the state and seen the devastation to our crops,” Culver said.
Iowa is usually the top U.S. corn and soybeans growing state and is a major producer of hogs and cattle.
Crop losses could spur price rises for everything from food to fuels, like corn-based ethanol, and play into growing fears of inflation threatening the already battered U.S. economy.
The flooding led authorities to close the upper Mississippi River to barge traffic, and commerce on a 300-mile stretch of the most important U.S. waterway may be shut down for weeks.
An epic 1993 Midwest flood swamped several cities in Iowa, Missouri and neighboring states, killing 48 people and caused $21 billion in losses.
Hank Says:
13 June 2008 at 7:31 pm.
Watching that on the evening news is nasty. Those poor folks. Most of Iowa is effected. That’s a lot of homes and businesses and corn.
Cavetrollhead Says:
13 June 2008 at 9:50 pm.
This is really terrible. You know, I was thinking of how flooding could effect food storage and how to prepare for it. I know that cans are not such a big deal, but frozen stuff would be.
Is there established wisdom on this? Joy, Roy, anyone? seems like a toughy, even if yo have your own generator.
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