Days after it rose out of its banks on its way to record flooding in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the Cedar River has forced at least 20,000 people from their homes.But unlike Hurricane Katrina, where throngs of Blacks refugees (wonder what will Midwest folks be labeled) had to suffer and endure some of the most horrific treatment imaginable, America is paying attention.
Officials guess it will be four days before the Cedar River drops enough for workers to even begin pumping out water that has submerged more than 400 blocks, threatened the city's drinking supply and forced the evacuation of a downtown hospital.
"We're estimating at least a couple of weeks before the flood levels get down right around flood stage and below," said Dustin Hinrichs of the Linn County emergency operations center.
The Cedar River crested Friday night at nearly 32 feet, 12 feet higher than the old record set in 1929.
Residents have moved to shelters and hotels and many have moved in with friends and relatives. Driving in the area has been difficult for days but got even worse late Friday when the state patrol closed Interstate 380, which links Cedar Rapids to Iowa City. Earlier, officials also closed Interstate 80 at Iowa City, blocking a major east-west route through the state.
Even as the river slowly recedes, officials in Cedar Rapids worried that the city's supply of fresh drinking water would run out. Only one of the city's half-dozen wells was working, and it was protected by sandbags and pumps powered by generators.
Damages are expected to exceed 1 billion, with recovery expected to take years. At least 438 city blocks were under water in Cedar Rapids, a city of 120,000.
Just south of Cedar Rapids, in Iowa City, the Iowa River had caused major damage by Saturday with the crest at least two days away. The river is expected to reach 33 feet to 34 feet late Monday or early Tuesday, far above the 25-foot flood stage.
More than 200 homes had been evacuated in Iowa City.
"This is our version of Katrina," Johnson County Emergency Management spokesman Mike Sullivan said. "This is the worst flooding we've ever seen — much worse than 1993," when much of the Midwest was hit by record flooding
The flooding was blamed for at least two deaths in Iowa.
Since June 6, Iowa has gotten at least 8 inches of rain, following a wet spring that already saturated the ground. As of Friday, nine rivers were at or above historic flood levels. More thunderstorms are possible in the Cedar Rapids area over the weekend, but next week is expected to be sunny and dry.
Gov. Chet Culver declared 83 of the state's 99 counties disaster areas, a designation that helps speed aid and opens the way for loans and grants.
The drenching has also severely damaged crops in America's No. 1 corn state and other parts of the Midwest at a time when corn prices are soaring. Dave Miller, a grain farmer and director of research for the Iowa Farm Bureau, estimated that up to 1.3 million acres of corn and 2 million acres of soy beans — about 20 percent of the state's overall grain crop — had been lost to flooding.
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