IOWA CITY FLOOD; Day 4

[Condem]

(My post from last night - that got lost with the server update)

Where to start. The good news. Local authorities, anticipating a huge volunteer turnout, filled Madison St. from Burlington to Jefferson (2 city blocks) with sand. And, turnout they did! U of I President Sally Mason estimated 2000 volunteers! By 2:00 p.m., the sand piles were gone, leaving officials scrambling to distribute the sandbags where needed. In fact as I type this , they are still moving them. An overwhelming effort! Good thing, because Mason said that sandbagging efforts would be halted at the U of I at 5:00 p.m. Now it's up to nature.

At 3:30, we were asked to leave the sandbagging area due to the instability of the coffer dam AND the approach of a severe thunderstorm. A tough break. No rain was expected today, yet the Iowa City area got two thunderstoms with pea-sized hail that lasted a couple of hours. I can't tell you how much we got but it went directly over the Iowa River watershed and just will compound problems.

The Burlington St Bridge is the last connection between the east and the west. That should close tomorrow. That leaves just I-80 over the Iowa River. The 30 mile trip to Cedar Rapids is now a 281 mile jaunt. Many buildings in Iowa City and Coralville are under water with cresting not predicted until sometime Tuesday.

No, twosparkles, no sign of FEMA, unless they're working undercover. Hats off to the Salvation Army and Red Cross who provided us with much needed food and water. To sum it up, unbelievable flooding. Keep us in your thoughts, GDPers!