Results tagged “Flood”

Although some business owners and residents were being allowed into flood-affected parts of Cedar Rapids Saturday and Sunday to assess damage, authorities determined early this morning that such access was simply too risky.

The only people allowed inside the affected areas until further notice will be members of the organized strike teams that are inspecting property. Those teams are comprised of local emergency officials, National Guardsmen and women and hazardous material and structural integrity inspectors. The teams have encountered missing manhole covers, collapsing basements, natural gas leaks, sink holes and various hazardous materials while in the process of inspecting properties.

While requesting "patience through this process," Sgt. Christy Hamblin of the Cedar Rapids Police Department explained during a Monday morning news conference that only three businesses within the flood-stricken area -- Quaker, Penford and Cargill -- would be allowed to send in employees today. Because of the potential for hazardous materials from those plant sites, representatives from the businesses will inspect their property alongside members of the strike teams.

"This is a large magnitude disaster," Dave Koch, of the Cedar Rapids Fire Department, said. "There is just a certain way we have to go about this."

According to Koch, the strike teams will continue to inspect properties today. The teams will be labeling properties as either safe or un-safe for entry.

Property owners and residents can either call 211 or visit the Corridor Recovery site to see how property has been classified. Properties that are not included on those lists have yet to be inspected by the strike teams.

Regardless of the property classification, no one will be allowed to access property within the affected areas. Officials are not willing to provide a possible end date for the lockdown.

"The hazards in there are unknown," Koch said. "We cannot take the liability of allowing people in there. Whether you are a home owner, a business owner or a member of the media, you will not be allowed within the perimeter."

The Cedar River is crawling back to its banks in Cedar Rapids at a rate of two inches per hour. Most of the downtown area is now exposed, and residents can begin to take stock of the extensive damage.

A tree on 3rd St. SE in downtown Cedar Rapids has become home to a multitude of plastic and some sort of cushion. Pieces of broken glass lay at the base.

One of the city's trademark statues didn't survive the flood. "Between Friends," a work created by Ann Royer and dedicated in November 1992, lies humiliated and broken on the sidewalk next to its base.

Damage to the businesses on 2nd Street SE between 3rd and 1st avenues is extensive.

Toppled trash cans, loose bricks and other debris litter 4th Ave. SE.

Several broken windows in this business at the base of the Alliant Tower, located at the intersection of 2nd Ave. SE and 1st St. SE, allow these battered blinds to shake in afternoon breezes.

Broken windows are, unfortunately, a common sight throughout downtown.

Overturned dumpsters are another common downtown sight.

This car with Johnson County plates was submerged in the flood waters on 4th Avenue. It is now coated with a thick layer of river soot and has a piece of wood firmly wedged into the hub of one of its back wheels.

The automatic doors at Riverview Condominiums couldn't stand up to the pressure of the flood waters.

Debris was wedged into the crack of this door by flood waters.

Flood waters still stand on much of 1st St SE, but much of the rest of the downtown area is accessible.

There's only one way to go from here. The strength of the river's current as it flowed down 1st St. SE is evident by this sign in front of the Hach Building.

Many downtown items that were not fastened down -- and a few that were -- have been moved and haphazardly re-arranged.

Dumpster and debris have collected under the sculpture near the bus station and transportation center. The facility suffered extensive damage to its interior.

Since local police and members of the National Guard have set up a perimeter around the flood-affected areas and are limiting access, downtown feels and sounds like a ghost city. It is rare to see another person that is not a member of the coordinated security teams.

The skies continue to rumble and spit intermittent rain, but with each passing hour another inch or two of previously wet areas in Linn County begin to dry. Residents have begun the migration from protecting and maintaining to sorrow and clean-up.

The Cedar River found its crest Friday morning at a record-breaking 31.12 feet. By 3 p.m. on Saturday, officials were reporting that levels had dropped to roughly 27 feet. Before the Cedar had pushed to the limits of its fury, more than 1,000 blocks (9.2 square miles) had been submerged and 25,000 residents displaced.

As previously covered areas are exposed, residents are faced with the stark reality of the damage. A thick coat of soot covers nearly everything the water touched. Debris ranging from trash bags to furniture to large appliances can be found hanging from power lines or atop roofs. Roadways and nature trails have taken a beating from strong currents. Manhole covers are missing. Windows broken. "Leftovers" are evident in all areas, rural and urban, that were affected by the flood waters.

The National Weather Service has indicated that it does not expect the Cedar River to drop to a non-flood level of 12 feet until June 24. Locals find it ironic that the flood levels of 1993 would now be considered a welcome sight.

The area of most immediate concern to public officials is the dwindling supply of clean drinking water. Business leaders, state legislators and elected officials have all encouraged residents and local businesses to drastically cut water usage. E-mail messages offering tips for the usage of collected rain or water from sump pumps have become a staple of local newscasts.

Despite all residents in and around Cedar Rapids being told to only use the available water supply for drinking and the City of Marion sharing its supply, municipal employees report that if consumption levels aren't drastically reduced, the current supply will only last another three or four days.

"We're still using water at a greater rate than we're producing," Pat Ball, utility director, said in a Saturday press conference.

The city's water supply became an issue when flood waters contaminated three of the city's four wells. The last well, located on Edgewood, would have also become a victim of the flood had it not been for a sea of volunteers who gathered to protect it from the river.

Gov. Chet Culver has now listed 83 of Iowa's 99 counties as disaster areas and has also said that he is not ruling out the possibility of a special legislative session, if necessary, to deal with the aftermath of the flooding.

Nationally, 18 of Iowa's counties have been named in a presidential disaster declaration. Those counties are: Adams, Benton, Black Hawk, Bremer, Buchanan, Butler, Cerro Gordo, Delaware, Fayette, Floyd, Hardin, Johnson, Linn, Marion, Page, Story, Tama, and Union.

The flood waters are slowly receding in Cedar Rapids and the greater Linn County area, but that doesn't mean everything is back to normal.

State Highway 13 remains underwater just north of the Highway 30/151 interchange.

A closer view of the flood water over Highway 13.

The railroad that runs below Highway 13 has also been flooded.

Further north on the railroad line the flood waters have receded, but left behind a trail of debris.

This electricity box, located near the center of Bertram City Park, continues to stand in water. Judging by water lines around the park, the box was likely fully submersed at one time.

Flood water that has stood stagnant over non-paved areas is leaving behind a host of earthworms as it recedes.

The worms pull together under a piece of bark in hopes of preventing their inevitable demise on the asphalt parking lot.

Although Indian Creek in Marion has returned to its banks, debris brought by the rushing water clings to the footbridge in Thomas Park.

This railroad bridge sits at the back of a pasture in rural Linn County. Water continues to lap at its base.

A bird flies over the new "lakefront" property near Highway 13. The water treatment plant, which was affected by the flood, sits to the right of this frame.

A road in the small community of Bertram remains submerged despite the fact that waters have receded significantly in this area.

At 6 p.m. on Friday night the Iowa Department of Transportation closed a portion of Interstate 380 between Cedar Rapids and Iowa City. Officials expect the interstate to be closed for several days.

If you need to travel from Cedar Rapids to Iowa City during the closure, the IDOT recommends using the following route (and packing a lunch):