Iowa Floods Have Gotten Really Nasty

Flooding in Iowa in the past week. Photo
by Jim Slosiarek via Twitter.  

At least 5,000 people are evacuating from their homes in and near Cedar Rapids, Iowa this morning thanks to storms that dumped more than a foot of rain in some sections of that state and Minnesota in the past week.

The Des Moines Register reports this will be the worst flood since at least 2008, when the same area was inundated by record flooding.  

The good news is predictions for flood crests have been scaled back a little bit, so it won't be quite as bad as 2008.

But there's a caveat: More rain is in the forecast, and if the downpours are bad enough, it will actually make the rivers rise more than forecast. We'll have to wait and see.

Another good thing is what happened after the 2008 flood. The Des Moines Register said authorities bought out the owners of 1,350 homes that flooded in Cedar Rapids then. The houses were torn down, and the area is now green space. It's really not that bad if open parklands go under water

Better than if houses do.

Up in southern Minnesota, flood alerts remain up in that area, too. More rain and thunderstorms are due today. Already, homes and businesses in Albert Lea, Minnesota are flooded. 

The amount of rain forecast in southeastern Minnesota today - around an inch in quick downpours- would not normally be cause for worry. But since the ground is so saturated, it won't take much to renew flooding there. 

The Iowa flood is another example of what we've been through this summer in terms of flooding. As we know, extreme floods have hit West Virginia, Maryland and Louisiana in recent months. I guess the trend is continuing.