Cedar Rapids Iowa, under water

[nadinbrzezinski]

and things are not good.

Oh and it will affect you and me FAST... do you like quaker oats?

Off line

This is not good... at multiple levels, anybody has an elevation map with the actual flood zone?

Methiks we are quickly reaching level four disaster

[villager]

1. Holy shit! Downtown under 7 feet of water !

http://www.radioiowa.com/gestalt/go.cfm?objectid=7F85636D-C033-C882-B31D27654B161D28

Another Katrina right in front of us?

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. That's what I am thinking

will be calling my Senator tomorrow for a refresher course,

And I have seen didly squat of this on the national news (teevee)

Ok CNN is actually on the story... I need a map with actual areas affected damn it!

From the story it is so far a "local" disaster"

[BeHereNow]

4. I'm wondering if Blackwater has illegally rolled into town yet...

as they did after Katrina.

Hope you can make the meet up AND bring your kids!
BHN

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. I'm in San Diego CA, doing disaster assessment using CNN

and I need to see a fucking map, and I doubt we will have that on our teevee... USGS? Will see how I can find the damn map

[jwirr]

31. I have lived in this area of Iowa - both CR and IC are in a valley that

aids the flooding. You are right to look for an elevation map because when it comes to crop lose etc. that is the total difference.

[nadinbrzezinski]

35. Yeah looking at a topo map, no wonder cedar rapids is under water

and the whole area that is flooding is on the flood plain

Lord help people in the area, will be nasty from water dropping

[Echo In Light]

58. Haven't seen anything like that happen

[LSK]

6. yes it is

[greenbriar]

3. One of my cousins lives in Cedar Rapids I have not heard from her

I hope they are okay

[bullwinkle428]

13. Phone circuits have been overloaded - I had to make

several attempts to get through to my gf, who lives in a town right next to Cedar Rapids. She's fine, but her workplace downtown is almost certainly under water on the first floor.

If they live anywhere near the river, I'm sure they evacuated several hours ago...hopefully all is well with them.

[underseasurveyor]

5. and more levees are giving way

one in coralville, ia and another in anamosa, ia.

me thinks your level 4 prediction are, unfortunately, on the mark.

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. Unfortunately that will be a refresher for my US Senator

getting them teams was not easy last time...

[underseasurveyor]

11. teams?

i'm not getting your meaning.

[nadinbrzezinski]

14. Canadian teams, mexican teams, level four means international aide

I used to do this for fun with the Mexican Red Cross for ten years... and going through the map right now

It is borderline level three \ four right now, depending on how many folks are affected....

Next get the population numbers.

If it is relatively small the NG (from several states) should be able to handle this...

Of course that is under a rational US Federal Administration... not the current one

[underseasurveyor]

17. ok gotcha

and btw good on you nadine :toast:

[nadinbrzezinski]

18. Been to this rodeo once...

with Katrina

Have I mentioned tonight how much I hate these people?

[underseasurveyor]

20. you, me and malloy

GOD I HATE THESE PEOPLE

[jwirr]

34. I don't know about Anamosa but the Coralville levee threatens IC. nt

[bullwinkle428]

9. It looks like New Orleans after Katrina...

http://www.gazetteonline.com/

:cry: :cry: :cry:

I live in a town about 15 miles south - don't worry about me...this town is located on some very high ground relative to the two rivers that are so desperately swollen. Just a few miles away from me, people are going through some utter devastation...

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. Found it...

damn this is impressive

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/ahps2/index.php?wfo=eax

[underseasurveyor]

15. here's one for iowa

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/ahps2/index.php?wfo=dvn&view=1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1&toggles=10,7,8,2,9,15,6

[rucky]

37. The "flood zone" appears to be the whole state.

and look at the next 48 hours.

This is awful.

[nadinbrzezinski]

43. It is going to get uggly, first off, I wonder if a federal declartion has been issued

yes, I know, I should go search yahoo...

[weezy2736]

21. If you wanted a pure topographical map, this one isn't too bad.

ortho.gis.iastate.edu/client.cgi?zoom=500&x0=583363&y0=4615289&layer=ned_10m&action=layerlc_2002&pwidth=550&pheight=550&x=394&y=274

No projections as to river height, but might it be useful in seeing how high the water could get?

Eddited: html errors

[nadinbrzezinski]

30. THanks that is the damn flood plain... no wonder and the NOAA map

really is not that clear

[weezy2736]

38. I'm not really a fan of any NOAA map.

Hopefully flooding will never get that bad in Ohio, but if it were, I could probably send you some of our old topo maps with real numbers on them, I imagine those would be much more useful.

[nadinbrzezinski]

40. Probably they would

I know that in disaster we worked with TOPO maps...

And yes looking at Cedar Rapids... damn.... I know when the city was built it made sense, but with Global Warming, I don't know

And I know people in NOLA hate it as well, but we may need to move her too (for the same reason)

[Shoelace]

25. NOAA says "Historical river flooding w/unprecedented impacts" for Quad Cities, IA

I've never, ever seen them say that before. Check this out - Cedar river expected to crest 12 ft. above historical flood levels by 7pm, Friday evening.
The '93 flood was only at 19 ft.!



main page here:
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=dvn&gage=cidi4&view=1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1

[nadinbrzezinski]

32. The only reason this is not going to make Katrina levels is the population

density

Looking at the flood plain map right now and it will get uglier.

[jwirr]

39. I think you can safely say that the state officials would have acted

rapidly on this also - these rivers flood traditionally so they would have been watching closely. Also they would not be setting around trusting FEMA to help. These communities are full of activists who are used to taking things into their own hands.

[nadinbrzezinski]

42. Yeah but... you knew that was coming

disasters are classified by how much they take in resources

A small crash, aka a L-1 takes place every day of the week and twice on sunday. You need a truck, some medics, worst case a helicopter and a trauma center within reach. This is very handeable by almost any where in the US

A L=2 would still be local, even perhaps regional. Your school bus crash fits this category. In a large city this is still a L-1, but in a rural area you may need help from the city next to you, or over the country line

A L-3 is a regional disaster, where this would be... with help from federal officials when it truly gets bad (and in this case FEMA works... ok I will be here all week, we know how badly FEMA is designed to work)... here is where Population Densities are important and how many people have been evacuated. Even five hundred can be a handful in the course of a week... tens of thousands... you start talking serious issues with housing and epidemic disease anywhere from 36 to 120 hours down the line... as well as water pollution due to dead animals and rotting bodies.

You can do very simple things to avoid this... such as boiling water and using even clorox in your water... a drop or two in a litter will do it.

A L-4 means international aide, and depending how bad this is, we may need it. Katrina it was clear as day... but CNN is doing a lousy job (I think on purpose) of showing the extent of this. And yes, there are specific protocols to go international

Oh and usually we can handle something like this in-country, but much of the equipment and personnel is in Iraq

[Shoelace]

50. just heard, Nat'l Guard from other states being called in w/helicopters

so this is what you call an L-3 level emergency since they're coming in from Texas, Florida, etc. This I heard on CNN which for about an hour had excellent coverage and their weatherman made it crystal clear how catastrophic the flood really is in Iowa, AND how historic it is as well. He really drove that point home so hoping this helps with National level aid.

Geez, I'm learning alot from you about these disasters and how they are handled, had no idea there were actual levels but makes sense. Thanks again for this info.

[nadinbrzezinski]

55. You welcome, sent fax to my US Senator, a memo essentially

telling her what will be needed in the next few days...

At the most critical level... water purification plants since all your water is now compromised

I hope NG from other places brings it, problem is that many of those units are in Iraq and Afghanistan

[intheflow]

59. Not only the population density.

This will be different from NOLA because the water will mostly, if not entirely, recede within a week. NOLA was underwater for a month. So its citizens were in a kind of domestic refugee position, and had to move elsewhere in the country. Folks in Cedar Rapids *may* have a much better chance of reclaiming and restoring their homes (if not the interior property) than, say, the 9th Ward.

Of course this observation does not to diminish the pain and suffering and tremendous losses of the good Iowans. I have a very close friend who lives in Cedar Rapids and I am worried to death about him and his family. No way to reach him; he lives downtown and only has a landline phone and internet--neither is working at present. :cry:

[nadinbrzezinski]

60. HUGS

if you need to vent, feel free to PM....

Also try to contact the ARC, to see if he has signed into the database

As to internally displaced people, given the extent of damage it will be similar to NOLA....

[intheflow]

61. Good call with the ARC.

And thank you for the hug. :hug:

[madfloridian]

12. We have family not far from there and no word from them today.

We talked last night, but nothing today.

[nadinbrzezinski]

16. Remember communications are down

hell some of the stations, According to NOAA, are already down

[madfloridian]

19. It's hard, though.

She sounded so nervous last night.

[nadinbrzezinski]

23. I know, after the Mexico City quake we didn't hear a thing from my parents

for 72 hours and then it was through a ham radio operator who got a message though a friend of a friend

So I know how hard it can be...


:grouphug:

And if you need to talk, feel free to PM

[madfloridian]

27. When we had 3 hurricanes in 6 weeks in 2004, we gave ham radio sites to all our kids

In case they could get into the state. Jeb was saying they would stop anyone at the state line. It panicked us. We got lucky with minimal damage.

[nadinbrzezinski]

29. I absolutely hate any of the bushies

but as we saw with Katrina, they stopped the aide anyhow... TYPICAL of these goons

[PassingFair]

44. Our corporate offices are in Cedar Rapids....

a woman I talked with today said that
75% of the work force had left by
3:00 to try and make their way
home.

She said that our building was
"across the river" from the flooding.

I don't know exactly where that puts
her.....

I don't know if the office will be open
in the morning or not. It's not in the
"downtown" area...

[cyberswede]

22. Lots of info here

I live southeast of Iowa City - it's crazy there!

Here's one of the local Cedar Rapids news channel websites. They have been broadcasting nonstop all day - on generator power, as they lost electricity at 7:00 a.m. Thursday. Click on the "watch live" link - they should be broadcasting 24 hours. It's amazing.

News website: http://www.kcrg.com/

Also, check out the Iowa Forum for additional info.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=152

[nadinbrzezinski]

24. Thankee, been keeping an eye on this

tomorrow morning will place some calls

THis is definitely borderline, especially since our guard is nowhere to be seen, to no fault of their own

[CoffeeCat]

26. Looks like 200 Iowa National Guard...

members are in Cedar Rapids.

http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/19876369.html

Other NG are in other parts of the state.

I just read that 80 of Iowa's 99 counties have been declared disaster areas.

[Shoelace]

28. thanks cyberswede, they just said, 8000 people evac'd from Cedar Rapids so far

and they just showed the fire station in town. It's inundated. Tornado warnings in Davenport now

[mrreowwr_kittty]

33. Can you recommend a way for us to help online? The only thing I'm seeing is Red Cross.

I'm leery of them after the way they pissed away 9/11 and Katrina contributions. I've been searching for more reputable charities, like Second Harvest and Doctors Without Borders. But if you say that Red Cross is okay I'll donate.

Thanks, and I hope you're okay! :hi:

[nadinbrzezinski]

36. I don't give to the American Red Cross either

I am sure that smaller charities will emerge, as they always do. Look if Habitat for Humanity is getting ready, and until we get teams moving in, will be hard to use international aid organizations

It was a headache last time... and believe you me, I actually sent money to my mom to give to the MEXICAN Red Cross Katrina Fund... yep they have their own problems, but not as bad

Oh and I don't give to the ARC because of the 9.11 fiasco... among others

[Skidmore]

47. Try the Salvation Army in CR.

They are providing shelter now to thousands of people and said they will turn no one away. These families literally have lost everything. Right now food and water are needed. Whole towns are losing potable water.

[nadinbrzezinski]

56. THis is why I hope we can get the cavalry in as fast as we can

[HerbieHeadhunter]

41. Don't forget about the Flying Weenie...

a great Chicago-style hotdog stand/restaurant downtown near the river.

http://www.theflyingwienie.com/contact_us.htm

[Theres-a]

45. Thanks for the update. So sad. nt

[Skidmore]

46. It's not just Cedar Rapids. Over half of the state is under water.

Many of our roads are closed. Farmers haven't been able to plant flooded fields. Many towns have no potable water. And the rain keeps coming. Yesterday we got six inches of additional precipitation. The flooding is horrible and the violent storms make it so much worse.

I tried to give people a sense of the state of affairs yesterday on this thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3436169

The situation is deteriorating. We don't have bodies floating in the streets, but we are literally drowning in every other way. This will take years to recover from. I'm speaking to you before the river has finished cresting. The worst has yet to come. Many businesses have suffered major damage. The infrastructure is being hit hard.

[malaise]

48. I cannot believe what I'm seeing

This is NOLA version 2. Hospital evacuated now. River cresting at 32 feet. WTF??? I weep for all those suffering.

[nadinbrzezinski]

53. I sent a memo to my US Senator, last time (aka Katrina)

I was able to convince her that this is not something a single state (or country) can deal with

I started going through photos, topo maps, expected water fall, and I know what you guys need short term, and medium term, as well as long term.

THis is to the scope of Katrina... I understand that

:hugs:

[MiniMe]

49. Is McCain "on the ground" yet like he said he would have been after Katrina?

[Blue Meany]

52. It's just as well if the candidates stay away

since they just draw away needed resources from rescue and recovery. Remember Bush's photo-ops in New Orleans. OTOH, if Obama went in with a planeload of supplies like Gore did in NOLA that would be cool.

I keep thinking Obama should just start acting like a shadow president, going to the places that Bush won't go, saying what he won't say and doing the things he won't do. People would start getting used to him being the leader and would get a chance to see the contrast between greed and compassion, incompetence and competence. But using a disaster as a campaign photo-op is a bad idea.

[cascadiance]

51. It was called the City of Five Seasons (and for some of us the City of Five Smells)...

We all could smell stuff like Quaker Oats, Wilson's Meat Packing Plant, amongst other strong smells there.

I'm betting it will be the City of far more smells than five for the next week!

Looks pretty fugly. I'm glad I'm not working at KCRG there now!

Really hoping for the best for those folks there. I think at least their water up there is peaking. Iowa City still looks like its going to get screwed more later. Already at well over 30 ft over flood stage now and just zoomed past the record 28.5 foot mark lat night. Could get as high as 38 from some folks estimates.

[nadinbrzezinski]

54. I know

[Contrary1]

57. Video of Cedar Rapids:

http://www.weather.com/multimedia/videoplayer.html?clip=11066&from=newslinker