Iowa – Midwest Flood News & Statistics

map of midwestern united states

Quick Summary for Midwest Flood:
Two dozen people killed and 148 injured
Approximately 35,000 – 40,000 people evacuated from homes
Flood warnings cover a span of about 325 miles from Dubuque, Iowa to St. Louis, Missouri
Mississippi crested at 37 feet in St. Louis area, seven feet above flood level
Iowa's agricultural economic losses are estimated to exceed $2 billion
9 Iowa rivers crested at record levels
83 of 99 Iowa counties are disaster areas
21 Illinois counties declared disaster areas
Cedar Rapids – water covered 1,300 city blocks, 9.2 square mile
Cedar Rapids – City Hall, the Linn County jail, the fire department, police communication equipment, most of the public library's collection and 3,900 homes were all under water
Cedar River flood crest exceeds historic 1929 record
Cedar River flood crested at over 32 feet Friday, June 13
South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Illinois and Indiana have also been affected
Floods have wrecked the Midwest's corn and soybean crops
22 levees breeched as of 6.20.08
Abnormally heavy snowpack with unseasonably heavy rainfall are root causes of flooding
Cedar Rapids recorded 24.09 inches of rain for the year — more than 10 inches above normal
Other parts of Eastern Iowa within the Cedar watershed recorded from 15–20 inches of rain between May 10–June 10
Cedar River has flooded more than 4,000 homes and many businesses in Cedar Rapids
Areas of Cedar Rapids are flooded beyond the so-called 500-year flood level of 26.5 feet
Damage costs in Cedar Rapids estimated at over $1.5 Billion

Iowa Section

Midwest Section

General Information

Iowa Flood Information

News

(July 17, 2008) – Cedar Rapids Gazette: 125 miles of Iowa highway damaged by flooding
(July 8, 2008) – Des Moines Register: Anxiety level recedes with river in Iowa City
(July 1, 2008) – Iowa Press-Citizen: Officials concerned about bridges
(June 23, 2008) – Des Moines Register: Recovery from floods will take 'long time,' billions of dollars
(June 23, 2008) – Des Moines Register: Many levees rarely inspected
(June 22, 2008) – Des Moines Register: C.R. looks to Grand Forks for lessons
(June 22, 2008) – Des Moines Register: History suggests cheaper, natural solutions can help cut flood costs
(June 20, 2008) – Captital Times: Violent Weather Spurs Redesign of Infrastructure
(June 20, 2008) – Chicago Tribune: Amtrak to restore service on 2 flooded routes
(June 20, 2008) – Quad City Times: Receding Floodwaters Reveal Heavily Damaged Roads in Iowa
(June 19, 2008) – KIMT-TV: Iowa flooding brings rail traffic to a crawl
(June 19, 2008) – Des Moines Register: Disaster aid will help on road work
(June 18, 2008) – Des Moines Register: Levees hold overnight throughout eastern, southeastern Iowa
(June 17, 2008) – CBS News: Floods Leave Iowa Swimming In Toxic Brew
(June 16, 2008) – Des Moines Register: Outdated D.M. levee had a known weak spot
(June 16, 2008) – Chicago Tribune: Sunday Flood Developments: Graphic Map
(June 16, 2008) – Des Moines Register: S.E. Iowa braces as waters start to recede elsewhere
(June 13, 2008) – Des Moines Register: 25,000 displaced in Cedar Rapids
(June 13, 2008) – BBC: Iowa floods force thousands out
(June 13, 2008) – IHT: Cedar Rapids Iowa, already flooded, gets pummeled by more rain
(June 13, 2008) – NYT: In Eastern Iowa, the City That ‘Would Never Flood’ Goes 12 Feet Under
(June 13, 2008) – Quad-City Times: Flood plays havoc with barges
(June 13, 2008) – CNN: Des Moines being evacuated
(June 13, 2008) – AOL: Flood Forces Thousands to Flee in Iowa
(June 12, 2008) – Gazette: Why the rain — and the floods — came
(June 12, 2008) – Gazette: Railroad bridge spanning the Cedar River collapses
(June 12, 2008) – Gazette: Water supply in Cedar Rapids, Robins at critical level
(June 12, 2008) – Gazette: Downtown flooding 'devastating and unbelievable' say onlookers
(June 12, 2008) – Gazette: Cedar County section of I-80 to close at 8 p.m. tonight
(June 12, 2008) – USGS: USGS Crews to Install New Streamgage in Cedar Rapids
(June 11, 2008) – BBC: Floods threaten US Midwest towns
(June 11, 2008) – BBC: US Midwest floods as East sweats
(June 10, 2008) – USGS: USGS Crews Measure Severe Flooding in the Midwest

News – Special Features

KCRG TV – Flood of 2008 Coverage
Des Moines Register – Floods of 2008
Johnson County Iowa – Johnson County Iowa Emergency Management
Des Moines Register – Severe Weather in Iowa

Images

(June 17, 2008) – Cedar Rapids Gazette: Aerial Photos of Iowa Flood
(June 17, 2008) – Des Moines Register: Best of Flood Photos
(June 13, 2008) – BBC: Iowa floods
(June 12, 2008) – Press Citizen: Aerial photos of flooding

Videos

(June 16, 2008) – BBC: Eyewitness: Swamped by Iowa flood
(June 13, 2008) – BBC: Aerial footage of the flooding
(June 13, 2008) – Weather.com: Downtown Cedar Rapids Underwater

Flood Water Resources & Information

USGS – Iowa Flood Information Page
State of Iowa – 2008 Flood Resource Center

Real-Time Information

USGS – Floods &ndash High Water Flows
USGS – Real-Time Water Data
USGS – WaterWatch &ndash Current Streamflow Conditions
USGS – Ground Water &ndash Climate Response Network
USGS – Drought Watch

Maps

Midwest Flood Information

News

(July 10, 2008) – Progressive Railroading: Railroads continue to restore flood-ravaged infrastructure
(July 3, 2008) – Houston Chronicle: Locks, bridges reopening on Mississippi River
(July 1, 2008) – Engineering News-Record: Midwest Rivers Drown Track And Whisk Away Bridges
(July 1, 2008) – AP: What to do with all the sandbags?
(July 1, 2008) – LA Times: As floodwaters recede in the Midwest, anger rises
(June 26, 2008) – WKOWTV: Damaged railroad tracks called "unprecedented"
(June 26, 2008) – USGS: Two 500-year floods in 15 years – What are the odds? (.pdf)
(June 26, 2008) – USA Today: Communities plan flood recovery
(June 25, 2008) – Yahoo! News: Midwest flood victims feel misled by feds
(June 25, 2008) – Washington Times: Katrina lessons at work in Midwest
(June 25, 2008) – USA Today: Midwest floods expose outdated levee systems
(June 24, 2008) – News-Leader: City grapples with flood control
(June 23, 2008) – NY Times: As sand bubbles up along an Illinois levee, so do new questions
(June 23, 2008) – Bloomberg News: Union Pacific, Rails May be Slow to Mend from Floods
(June 21, 2008) – Milwaukee Journal: Save and expand wetlands to help state with flood control
(June 20, 2008) – CSM: Floods engulf archaic levee system
(June 19, 2008) – CNN: Mississippi River threatens more Midwest levees
(June 19, 2008) – BBC: More levees yield to Mississippi
(June 18, 2008) – BBC: Mississippi breaks Midwest levee
(June 17, 2008) – Chicago Tribune: Mississippi's rising waters break 1993 record
(June 17, 2008) – USA Today: Midwest flooding disrupts Amtrak service
(June 17, 2008) – St. Louis Post: Flooding is expected to top 1993 records
(June 17, 2008) – Wikipedia: Midwest Flood Summary
(June 17, 2008) – USA Today: Midwest floods send corn prices soaring past $8 a bushel
(June 17, 2008) – Bloomberg News: U.S. Midwest Floods Head to Mississippi River Cities
(June 17, 2008) – BBC: Midwest braced for more flooding
(June 16, 2008) – Reuters: Floods to disrupt barges for weeks, rail months
(June 15, 2008) – BBC: Thousands forced out by US floods

Images

(June 19, 2008) – BBC: More levees yield to Mississippi
(June 18, 2008) – BBC: Midwest under water
(June 13, 2008) – USGS: 2008 Midwest Flooding Related Images

Videos

(June 18, 2008) – Pentagon.com: Midwest Floods
(June 18, 2008) – Reuters: Severe flooding soaks American Midwest
(June 13, 2008) – BBC: Aerial footage of the flooding

Flood Water Resources

USGS – Missouri Water Science Center
USGS – Mississippi Water Resources Data

Real-Time Information

USGS – Missouri Floods – High Water Flows
USGS – Missouri Real-Time Water Data
USGS – Missouri WaterWatch – Current Streamflow Conditions
USGS – Missouri Ground Water – Climate Response Network
USGS – Mississippi Floods – High Water Flows
USGS – Mississippi Real-Time Water Data
USGS – Mississippi WaterWatch – Current Streamflow Conditions
USGS – Mississippi Ground Water – Climate Response Network

Maps

General Information

Historical US Floods

USGS– Significant Floods in the United States During the 20th Century

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