Effects
While the Great Flood of 1993 was greater in continental terms, in local Iowa terms, the June, 2008 Midwest floods were considerably worse. Lessons learned in 1993, however, helped prevent or otherwise ameliorate damage, extensive as it was; one example is how the city of Des Moines raised its levee around its domestic water and sewage treatment plants. The extent of flooding in 2008 was probably less than during the Flood of 1851, but it is difficult to compare impacts of the two floods because of changes in population, economy, and land use. A study performed by Mark Burton at the University of Tennessee and Michael J. Hicks at Ball State University was based on post 1993 flood data. However, the 2008 floods damaged key infrastructure outside of the model (e.g. the University of Iowa library) due both to changes in population and flood protection measures. However, the Burton & Hicks study did identify crop damages at roughly $3 billion, which turned out to be very close to the actual damages.
The flooding led to evacuations of many homes. In eastern Iowa along the Iowa River and Cedar River, flooding exceeded that of the Flood of 1993.
Flooding also forced the closure of an extensive number of roads throughout the eastern half of the state, a situation that affected far more people than those who directly experienced the floods; in particular, portions of Interstate 80 and Interstate 380 were closed. The closure of bridges in Waterloo, Cedar Rapids and Iowa City disrupted normal traffic patterns, and led to extensive detours.
Rail traffic was also seriously compromised. The Iowa, Chicago and Eastern Railroad (IC&E Railroad) had a washout between Mason City and Nora Springs. The Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway Co. (CRANDIC/CIC) was particularly affected; its bridge in Cedar Rapids was destroyed by the flooding while an embankment downriver near Coralville was also washed out. The Keokuk Junction Railway (KJRY) also reported disruptions. Amtrak service was rerouted, away from Iowa; a number of trains had their passengers put onto buses.
Read more about this topic: Iowa Flood Of 2008
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