Flood of '08: An Update as the Flooding Subsides

While south of us the cities of Iowa City and Coralville, the worst of it has past for Cedar Rapids. After the crest at noon yesterday the water levels have come down about eighteen inches. Now we have the slow wait until the water drops enough that repairs can begin.

According to the National Weather Service site, we still have five or six days before we even reach the Major Flood stage level. It will be over a week before we even get down to flood level.

We now have days of water conservation ahead of us. No showering, no washing dishes, no laundry. The stupidity of it all is that we have not shut down all the restaurants, laundromats, cleaners, and the like around the city. Hence the water levels continue to fall and we will soon be in the danger of a boil order because of it. I highly recommend any locals that are out and about stop to implore these people to shut down so as to conserve water. Having worked in any number of restaurants I know exactly how much water they use.

I will end with a few pictures that just illustrate the strangeness of it all. I will continue to check in sporadically with more information.