Floodgate '08

WANTED: Ark

My hometown (Waterloo, IA born and raised) is in bad shape. The flooding of the Cedar River is the worst it has ever been. In Waterloo, the flood stage of the Cedar River is 12 ft. It is expected to crest at 26 feet, a record. In our neighboring town of Cedar Falls, the river is yet to crest and when it does it will be 103 feet, also a record. Flood stage there is 88 feet. It has been declared a Presidential Disaster area with access to help from FEMA.

Yesterday in Waterloo, the little island in the Cedar River of San Souci was evacuated and is now largely under water.

This afternoon at 2:45pm, the Union Pacific railroad bridge (near the 6th Street bridge) over the Cedar River in Waterloo could no longer stand the pressure and broke. A large piece of the bridge washed down river slamming into the 18th Street Bridge.

The downtown and surrounding areas are being evacuated in CF and downtown Waterloo as well. There is a call for volunteers to report to the UNI-dome in CF and also in Waterloo to help with sandbagging throughout the night.

Many roads and highways are closed. Navigating in and out of town is difficult. The National Guard has been called in to help. Residents are stocking up on bottled water and non-perishables.

Its too late yet tonight to do more than mention that other areas near by like Waverly and New Hartford are flooded or that IA City and Des Moines, and on and on are facing similar fates.

There are too many amazing pictures and videos to link them all. If you're interested in seeing pictures or video, just visit KWWL (especially viewer submitted photos) or the Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier.

My sister Katie snapped a bunch of shots and I'll get them up tomorrow. In the meantime, here are a few to ponder.

Waterloo 4th St. bridge (potter 2617)

Cedar Falls Boathouse (croberts001)

Cedar Falls, corner of Lincoln and Main (croberts001)