ST. LOUIS—Hundreds of Iowa residents have needed rescue from record-setting flooding that has swamped parts of the state, covering buildings up to their rooftops, shutting down major roads, and disrupting basic services like electricity and drinking water.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said water in some areas rose above records from 1993, a flood many in the Midwest remember as the worst of their lives. The floods have hit parts of Iowa, South Dakota, Nebraska and Minnesota.
The water was so powerful that it pulled down a train bridge connecting North Sioux City, South Dakota, with Sioux City, Iowa. On the Blue Earth River in Minnesota, water forced its way around the Rapidan Dam and local officials warned of its possible failure.
It’s hot, too, making dangerous conditions worse.
A look at why waters are so high in the Midwest:
What is causing the bad flooding?
Torrential rains. The hardest hit areas were South of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The city’s airport received more than seven inches). More than 11 inches fell in Rock Rapids, Iowa, a roughly 45-minute drive to the East.
“It has been just round after round through the month. And then recently, we’ve had a few big rounds,” said Joseph Bauers, a meteorologist with AccuWeather.
And the most recent rounds of heavy rain have fallen on wet ground. When soil is wet, it can’t absorb as much new moisture, so more of the rain runs into rivers and streams.
Flooding is a big change for a part of the country that has endured drought in recent years. Rain started to hit the region in late April and early May, according to National Weather Service hydrologist Jeff Zogg.
Then the really heavy storms came June 21 and June 22.
What is a crest and why do they matter?
A crest is the highest level a river reaches before receding, and they are tracked closely by forecasters. It’s essential to know when a crest is expected to hit, how bad it will be and how fast it is traveling down river.
Because recent rains dumped extraordinary amounts of water on the region, rivers rose quickly, and crests are expected soon or have already occurred in some places.
Sioux City Fire Marshal Mark Aesoph told reporters that the Big Sioux River stabilized June 24 morning at around 45 feet, over seven feet higher than the previous record.
“It’s just been difficult to predict what’s going to happen when levels are this high when we have no history with it,” he said. (AP)
