Floods force thousands from homes in Iowa

Iowa's biggest cities were submerged on Sunday after swollen rivers forced thousands of residents to flee their homes amid devastating floods in the Midwestern US state.

A large swath of Des Moines was underwater after a river levee was breached in the city of 200,000, and officials were concerned that a forecast thundershower could raise river levels even higher.

In Cedar Rapids, floodwaters began receding late Saturday, and authorities allowed inspectors to do an initial assessment of whether a home is safe to enter.

But "the city continues to be very dangerous but we are doing everything in our power to get people access to their homes as soon as possible in a safe manner," warned Cedar Rapids Mayor Jeff Beauregard.

In the state capital, muddy water from the Des Moines River covered several bridges and poured down streets north of the state Capitol, swallowing a neighborhood with about 200 homes and 40 businesses.

"This held for about four hours this morning and they pulled everyone out because it was starting to get loose," Des Moines Fire Department Captain Tony Merrill said, as he looked at a hastily constructed sand berm that floodwaters busted.

"It's very disheartening," he told AFP. "They put down two miles of sand bags last night. They were making 8,000 bags an hour."

At least 2,500 volunteers had registered to help hold the water back by filling and laying down even more sandbags under the hot sun.

"We've got folks who've been working since early this morning to get it under control," said Rick Kozin, a spokesman for the Polk County emergency operations center.

"There's still a lot of water in the river. The situation still remains serious," Kozin told AFP.

Unprecedented flooding covered hundreds of city blocks in Cedar Rapids, as officials urged residents to limit their water use to drinking, according to the municipality's website.

The University of Iowa, based in Iowa City, cancelled classes until June 22 as the flood threatened its dorms, research facilities, library and art museum.

"This has been a very trying week for our state," Iowa Governor Chet Culver said in a statement. "Responding to a crisis like this takes the cooperation of everyone, from the federal government down to the local communities."

Extreme weather has left at least 16 dead and thousands homeless in the state since May 25, said Bret Voorhees, spokesman for the Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

The toll included a 59-year-old woman found dead in her flooded basement in Cedar Rapids Friday, local media said.

The disaster began when a major tornado struck on May 25. It was followed by heavy rains, and on Wednesday another twister touched ground in western Iowa, killing four boy scouts.

Five others were killed in other parts of the Midwestern United States by flooding and tornadoes.

Serious flooding has hit the entire region, including parts of South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas.

In an area known as the nation's corn belt, the flooding will likely put further pressure on already high food prices as initial estimates place the damage at a loss of up to 20 per cent of Iowa's crops.

Rail shipments have also nearly ground to a halt in the state as floodwaters covered and even washed out track and key bridges and barge traffic on the Mississippi River was also interrupted, local media reported.

The power of the rushing floodwaters in Cedar Rapids was awesome. Houses and cars could be seen pressed up against a rail bridge which caught them as they were swept downstream.

"We're trapped with nowhere to go," said Gloria Hines, who lives about a dozen blocks from where the Cedar River spilled over.

Torrential rains Thursday left downriver towns preparing for the worst and the National Guard called in to help an army of volunteers with sandbagging and rescue efforts.

A boat ride through Cedar Rapid's water-logged downtown saw every branch of government crippled by the floods.

The library, the federal building and city hall were all filled with water, which rippled through basements and pulled files and furniture out through the windows.

Inmates in the county jail were evacuated along with their mattresses.

 

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