Wisconsin Flooding

[studbucket]

Re: Wisconsin Flooding

Well the water in Iowa is ridiculous! I'm in Seattle for the summer, but the University in Iowa City is partly underwater, and all the horrible flooding you guys are having in Wisconsin is coming down to Iowa and Illinois.

I hope everyone is OK!

[TheGamingChef]

Re: Wisconsin Flooding

If you guys have been watching the news and saw anything about Cedar Rapids that's my city. Right now we're all sitting back waiting for the water to recede.

All but two of our bridges across the river have been closed indefinitely, because you can't even see them. Only essential people are supposed to cross, and it can take over an hour to make what is normally a ten or fifteen minute commute.

Let me give you some background on the Cedar River. Its flood stage is at 12 feet. The worst flood we had ever seen was over eighty years ago, when it hit 20 feet. The 500 year flood stage - or a flood that is probable to occur only once every five hundred years - is a little over 26 feet, or more than double the flood stage. Seems like a lot, huh?

The river is currently sitting above 31 feet and is going to continue to rise for about three more hours.

We lost three of our four water pumps. Our one remaining water pump was sandbagged by hundreds of people yesterday. We have to cut our water usage from 38 mgd (million gallons/day) down to 12 mgd for three weeks if not longer. Meanwhile all of our stores are out of bottled and gallons of water and because the Interstate has been closed south of here, new shipments are coming in slowly if at all.

I just don't know what we're going to do. I'm so fortunate in that my house is still intact. Please y'all keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

This is a good article about the situation, front-page CNN: Floods

[dbeth]

Re: Wisconsin Flooding

I'm really feeling for you guys in Cedar Rapids right now Chef! I cannot imagine how bad it is when you're 19 FEET above flood stage. We've had to cut back our water usage since Monday, and I know how hard that is. We just got hit with all the rain as well yesterday and they've shut down the interstate around us and many, many roads are impassable. They actually brought in those old Army Ducks to get people out of flooded areas (they're a local attraction ride in the Dells right now, but since they have no lake, they're rescuing people).

I hope you are dry, or as best as possible. Stay safe, and all of you guys living downstream along the Mississippi....GET READY!!!

Rivers in Wisconsin lead to the Wisconsin River
Iowa feeds into the Mississippi or Missouri Rivers
Indiana feeding into the Ohio

flooded Wisconsin River + flooded Missouri River + flooded Ohio River = RECORD LEVEL MISSISSIPPI RIVER.

Be proactive St. Louis and get as prepared as possible. It is NOT going to be a pretty summer.

[TheGamingChef]

Re: Wisconsin Flooding

I hope you guys are doing alright still...

Here we are almost out of water (ironic isn't it?) I've been using no more than a half-liter a day for the past three days... which means the smell all around here is starting to get a little interesting.

I was going to go to my parent's house, but what normally would take me twenty or thirty minutes to drive has been detoured to what would now be about a seven hour one-way trip.

Not to mention I heard the gas station by the airport down south is out of gasoline... but that is only a rumor at this point.

We aren't supposed to drop below flood stage for about two weeks which means there is going to be a lot of opportunities for, unfortunately, looting. Yesterday they caught the first looters downtown and I'm guessing there will be more to follow. It's nowhere near as bad as it could be, so I guess we should be happy about that.

Just hoping everyone else is hanging in there... It's tough to see your hometown disappear...

[RAZRr1275]

Re: Wisconsin Flooding

I hope you guys are doing alright still...

Here we are almost out of water (ironic isn't it?) I've been using no more than a half-liter a day for the past three days... which means the smell all around here is starting to get a little interesting.

I was going to go to my parent's house, but what normally would take me twenty or thirty minutes to drive has been detoured to what would now be about a seven hour one-way trip.

Not to mention I heard the gas station by the airport down south is out of gasoline... but that is only a rumor at this point.

We aren't supposed to drop below flood stage for about two weeks which means there is going to be a lot of opportunities for, unfortunately, looting. Yesterday they caught the first looters downtown and I'm guessing there will be more to follow. It's nowhere near as bad as it could be, so I guess we should be happy about that.

Just hoping everyone else is hanging in there... It's tough to see your hometown disappear...

If you guys have been watching the news and saw anything about Cedar Rapids that's my city. Right now we're all sitting back waiting for the water to recede.

All but two of our bridges across the river have been closed indefinitely, because you can't even see them. Only essential people are supposed to cross, and it can take over an hour to make what is normally a ten or fifteen minute commute.

Let me give you some background on the Cedar River. Its flood stage is at 12 feet. The worst flood we had ever seen was over eighty years ago, when it hit 20 feet. The 500 year flood stage - or a flood that is probable to occur only once every five hundred years - is a little over 26 feet, or more than double the flood stage. Seems like a lot, huh?

The river is currently sitting above 31 feet and is going to continue to rise for about three more hours.

We lost three of our four water pumps. Our one remaining water pump was sandbagged by hundreds of people yesterday. We have to cut our water usage from 38 mgd (million gallons/day) down to 12 mgd for three weeks if not longer. Meanwhile all of our stores are out of bottled and gallons of water and because the Interstate has been closed south of here, new shipments are coming in slowly if at all.

I just don't know what we're going to do. I'm so fortunate in that my house is still intact. Please y'all keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

This is a good article about the situation, front-page CNN: Floods

Here's a story about the floods from today:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/weather/0....ap/index.html

We've closed three bridges and it looks like we're going to close two more and the bottom half of a sixth... meaning we're going to have one Interstate bridge to connect the two halves of our city for a week or so... That'll be interesting Palo is about ten miles from here and it's been evacuated.

Wow. That really sucks. Luckily where I'm at all that happened to us is a leaky roof in one spot. Hopefully it works itself out soon.

[dbeth]

Re: Wisconsin Flooding

We've got relatives in Des Moines and it doesn't sound like it's going to be any good there soon. Isn't rationing water hard?? Once you start doing it, you really realize how much you took it for granted. Bathing, cleaning, drinking....etc.

Take care and keep us posted. I think we might be getting better finally, but it sounds like you have a long road ahead of you. My advice: be wary of rumors. They spread like wildfire up here Monday and Tuesday and about 95% of them were wrong.

[TheGamingChef]

Re: Wisconsin Flooding

We've got relatives in Des Moines and it doesn't sound like it's going to be any good there soon. Isn't rationing water hard?? Once you start doing it, you really realize how much you took it for granted. Bathing, cleaning, drinking....etc.

Take care and keep us posted. I think we might be getting better finally, but it sounds like you have a long road ahead of you. My advice: be wary of rumors. They spread like wildfire up here Monday and Tuesday and about 95% of them were wrong.

Good to hear about Wisconsin. It sounds like the water is heading south, and it's all going into the same river, so just like dbeth said. Watch out Saint Louis! You guys are going to have MAJOR MAJOR problems sometime later this summer.

Rationing water is much more difficult than expected. in the morning I take a pot, fill it halfway with water, and then take a rag and sponge and stand in the shower to "bathe" myself & wash my face and hair. We are stuck using paper plates & cups and plastic silverware and our laundry is piling up in the basement. But I am one of the lucky ones so I shouldn't complain too much.

The city just told us that we have three days of water left and then they're going to have to shut people off...

[Herky]

Re: Wisconsin Flooding

I left on Tuesday morning to help my brother move from Iowa City to Tacoma, WA. He got out just in time from Iowa City as that place is a total mess. I just flew home to Davenport, IA last night and spent most of the time in the airports (Tacoma and Atlanta) seeing how bad things were in Iowa City on CNN.

Prayers out to everyone affected by this horrible flood.

[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: Wisconsin Flooding

Damn...hope ya'll and your families and everything are all ok.

From what it looks like, it may be a LONG summer from the floods in the midwest to the unexpected heat wave hitting my area early.