500 year Flood of 2008. Katrina in Iowa

For every year, one in five hundred chances are that a huge flood will happen and destroy half of what everyone owns. The year is 2008 and this flood hit Iowa pretty hard. Vinton, Palo, Cedar Falls, Waterloo, Cedar Rapids, all under mandatory evacuation. Cedar Rapids, Iowa, my city, is the second city EVER, right next to Paris France, that has their courthouse on an island. Our island is in the middle of the Cedar River, which is taking Iowa by storm. Our courthouse is under water, and at least a half a mile in from each side of the river is under water. My house is completely out of the way. The city has shut down all bridges across the river, except for I-380 and 300. The water is going over the bridges and over peoples' houses. A half a mile in from the river doesn't sound like much, but here's an idea. The Cedar River divides Cedar Rapids in half. The East side and the West side. The City of Cedar Rapids is so big that the city is separated into four sections, NE, NW, SE, and SW; like a compass. The Cedar River also divides up Waterloo, Cedar Falls, Palo and Vinton. Vinton had to evacuate their jail house because of the flood waters.

Believe it or not, this is the biggest flood the midwest has ever seen. Years and years is what it will take to fix this mess, and a whole lot of money in sump-pumps...

If anyone from Iowa remembers the flood of 1993, this is one hundred times worse.

I hope everyone else is having a safe and fun summer.

Thanks

RaeAnne