6:00 AM Update on Flooding in Iowa

Overnight Efforts Focus On Security, Bolstering Levees

JOHNSTON – With flood waters to the north receding and recovery efforts underway there, communities in the extreme southeast portion of Iowa were bracing early Monday for river crests still to occur.

Flooding in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, June 2008: Photo by Louis (CC)

Gov. Chet Culver is scheduled to make stops today in Ottumwa, Keokuk, Burlington and Columbus Junction, meeting with residents, emergency responders and volunteers to assess first-hand what assistance is needed.

With flood waters having crested in all but the southeast portion of Iowa, overnight efforts focused on securing areas that had been evacuated, particularly Iowa City, and in additional bolstering of levees where the high marks are still expected to occur.

The Iowa National Guard was providing assistance Sunday night and early Monday morning in securing portions of Iowa City that have been evacuated.

Delivery of plastic was scheduled to occur Monday to fortify levees in Keokuk.
The Guard also delivered bottled water for 2,200 residents in the Columbus Junction area early Monday morning.

Meanwhile, utilities such as MidAmerican and Alliant Energy were working on restoring power to flood-ravaged areas throughout eastern Iowa where water levels had started to recede.

I. AREAS OF CONCERN

Iowa City
Flood waters have crested in Iowa City.

Members of the Coast Guard Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) transported waste water treatment employees to the facility, and assisted transporting employees to the animal care facility in Iowa City.

Local officials have ordered mandatory evacuations for several areas of Iowa City with more than 200 homes affected.

350 National Guard soldiers are currently deployed in Iowa City and local officials continue to work to protect critical structures within the area, including filling and delivering sandbags.

Montrose
Voluntary Evacuations have been ordered for areas north and south of Montrose, as well as the Sandusky Area, in Lee County.

Burlington
500 National Guard soldiers are currently deployed to Burlington.

Sandbagging operations continue around the Burlington Power Plant.

Keokuk
Flood preparations are continuing for the city, which is expected to see record flooding on the Mississippi River.

500 National Guard soldiers have been deployed to the area to help in preparation efforts.

*NEW* Columbus Junction/Fredonia
The river has crested in Columbus Junction.

Residents of Fredonia are expected to be able to return at 8 a.m. Monday. Water from Tyson Foods is available to residents in Columbus Junction and Columbus City, but under a boil order.

Des Moines
750 National Guard soldiers are currently deployed in Des Moines.

Evacuation orders have been lifted for non-threatened areas of the city.

A levee breach in Des Moines’ Birdland Park Neighborhood resulted in the evacuation of more than 200 homes.

North High School is flooded.

Reported numbers in shelters by American Red Cross: Harding Middle School, 40 people; Callanan School, 5 people

Coralville
Flood waters have crested in Coralville.

Members of the Coast Guard Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) assisted with getting recreational boats and three people out of the water in Coralville.

Ottuwma
Army Corps of Engineers will slow the Red Rock release rate from 115,000 CFS to 100,000 CFS. This change means that the water will stay at the 21.3 for 12 - 14 days.

Ottumwa will continue to build up the berm around the water treatment facility. Sandbagging efforts are going smoothly.

Oskaloosa
Officials continue to monitor the levees around the water treatment plant.

The river will continue to fall to a stage of 23.5 feet by Monday morning.

Oakville
Des Moines County Emergency Management reported a levee break at Oakville in southeastern Louisa County. The area south in Louisa County and into Des Moines County to Oquawka was projected to be inundated within 3 hours.

Local officials have ordered a mandatory evacuation for the community.

Cedar Rapids
There is still a mandatory evacuation order in effect for parts of Cedar Rapids, which affects more than 20,000 people.

Concerns still remain for Cedar Rapids water treatment plant. The city has increased its water capacity to 50% of full, but city officials are continuing to asking people not to take showers or wash laundry, and to conserve water however they can.

IMPORTANT: Do not enter areas affected by flooding unless instructed by emergency personnel to do so. This includes, but is not limited to areas subject to both mandatory and voluntary evacuations.

Remember: Public safety is everyone's job. Evacuate means evacuate!

II. FATALITIES

Sixteen storm-related deaths since the tornado of May 25, including one in Linn County, six in Parkersburg, two in New Hartford, one in Hamilton County, one in Wright County, one in Palo Alto County, and four Boy Scouts in Monona County.

III. DECLARATIONS

Counties covered under Governor Culver’s Disaster Proclamation: 83 counties. Adair, Adams, Allamakee, Appanoose, Audubon, Benton, Black Hawk, Boone, Bremer, Buchanan, Butler, Carroll, Cass, Cedar, Cerro Gordo, Chickasaw, Clarke, Clayton, Crawford, Clinton, Dallas, Delaware, Dubuque, Davis, Decatur, Des Moines, Fayette, Floyd, Franklin, Fremont, Greene, Grundy, Guthrie, Hamilton, Hancock, Hardin, Harrison, Howard, Humboldt, Henry, Iowa, Jackson, Jasper, Johnson, Jones, Jefferson, Keokuk, Kossuth, Lee, Linn, Louisa, Lucas, Marion, Marshall, Mitchell, Monona, Montgomery, Muscatine, Mahaska, Madison, Mills, Monroe, Page, Polk, Pottawattamie, Poweshiek, Ringgold, Scott, Story, Shelby, Tama, Taylor, Union, Van Buren, Wapello, Warren, Webster, Winneshiek, Worth, Wright, Washington, Wayne, and Winnebago.

The Governor's proclamation activates Iowa's individual disaster assistance program. Iowa’s individual disaster assistance program helps people with low incomes. Iowans with household incomes of up to 130 percent of federal poverty guidelines may apply for a grant of up to $3,300 to help recover from flood damage. The governor emphasized that this is a reimbursement program, meaning that applicants must include receipts when applying for help.

Counties declared presidential disasters for Individual Assistance: 24 counties. Adams, Cedar, Jones, Louisa, Muscatine, Polk, Winneshiek, Benton, Bremer, Black Hawk, Butler, Buchanan, Cerro Gordo, Delaware, Fayette, Floyd, Hardin, Johnson, Linn, Marion, Page, Story, Tama and Union. Individual Assistance allows homeowners, renters, business owners and non-profit organizations to recover from the effects of severe storms, tornadoes and flooding that began May 25 and continues.

Individual Assistance allows homeowners, renters, business owners and non-profit organizations to recover from the effects of severe storms, tornadoes and flooding that began May 25 and continues.

Counties declared presidential disasters for Public Assistance: 15 counties. Black Hawk, Boone, Buchanan, Butler, Cerro Gordo, Crawford, Dallas, Delaware, Dubuque, Floyd, Franklin, Marion, Story, Tama and Union. Public Assistance funds pay 75 percent of the approved cost of debris removal, emergency services related to the disaster and repairing or replacing damaged public facilities, such as roads, buildings and utilities. A series of applicant briefings will be held for local officials to explain the application process. (15)

Public Assistance funds pay 75 percent of the approved cost of debris removal, emergency services related to the disaster and repairing or replacing damaged public facilities, such as roads, buildings and utilities. A series of applicant briefings will be held for local officials to explain the application process. Black Hawk, Buchanan, Butler and Delaware were previously included on the declaration for Public Assistance.

IV. STATE RESOURCES DEPLOYED

More than 2500 Iowa National Guard
200 Iowa State Patrol
1,000 Iowa Department of Transportation Employees
Sandbags: More than 4.8 million
Pumps: 114
Gallons of water distributed: 180,930

V. ROAD CLOSURES

Interstate 80 continues to be closed east of Iowa City, and Interstate 380 continues to be closed south of Cedar Rapids. Motorists are urged to avoid these areas, and are being directed to use US 61 to US 20 to I-35 when traveling from the east, and I-35, to US 20, to US 61 when traveling from the west.

For the latest in road closures, please visit the Iowa Department of Transportations website at: www.511ia.org

V. SHELTERS

Black Hawk County
Cedar Falls-UNI West Gym, Hudson Road & University Avenue

Bremer County-Waverly
Wartburg College, 100 Wartburg Blvd.

Des Moines County
Mediapolis: Mediapolis High School 725 North English St
Burlington: West Burlington High School, 408 W. Van Weiss

Johnson County-Coralville
Northwest Jr. High School 1507 8th St

Johnson County-Iowa City
Johnson County Fairgrounds, 4261 Oak Crest Hill Road SE

Lee County-Keokuk
First Christian Church, 3476 Main St.
Special needs shelter has been arranged at the Ft. Madison Health Center, 1702 41ST St., Ft. Madison
Pet shelters have been arranged at PAWS, 2031 48th Street, Ft. Madison and the Keokuk Humane Society, 1222 Johnson Street, Keokuk.

Linn County-Cedar Rapids
Prairie High School , 401 76th Ave SW

Louisa County-Letts
Muscatine School, 14354 170th St

Page County-Shenandoah
Old Armory 423 West Thomas

Polk County-Des Moines
Harding Middle School, 203 East Euclid
Callanan Middle School-Des Moines
3010 Center St.

Scott County-Davenport
Central High School, 1120 Main Street
Davenport, IA 52803

Tama County-Toledo
Toledo Community Building, 103 South Church Street

Wapello County-Ottumwa
Ottumwa High School, 422 McCarroll Drive

VI. IMPORTANT NOTICES

Stay out of flood affected areas unless you have been told to be there. Emergency Management Officials need clear access to these areas, and unless you need to be there, stay away.

Evacuate Means Evacuate. If you are directed by local officials to evacuate, leave the area immediately. The situation remains dangerous, and to help protect the lives of Iowans, please leave if you are told to do so.

Be wary of unscrupulous practices. Disasters bring out the best in people, and can sometimes bring out the worst. Reports are sporadic at this time, but have indicated that Iowans affected by flood waters have been scammed by people posing as contractors or emergency personnel. Remember:

* Never pay for goods or services in advance
* Never give out your social security number
* Always ask for identification

VII. VOLUNTEER

Iowans interested in volunteering or donating are encouraged to contact the Iowa Concerns Hotline at: 800.447.1985.

WARNING: Please stay out of areas affected by flooding unless you are directed to be there. Emergency personnel need free access to these areas, and onlookers affect emergency operations.

VIII. KEY NUMBERS/WEBSITE

To call for updated shelter information, call 1-800-GET-INFO (438-4636)

211 (regional call center to help people with human services)

Iowa Concern Hotline 1-800-447-1985 for volunteers and donations

Road Closures Hotline 1-866-452-8510 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily or 24 hours at www.511ia.org

To apply for federal assistance, contact FEMA 1.800.621.3622, TTY 1.800.462.7585. www.fema.gov.

For current weather forecasts and flood statements, visit http://www.weather.gov

X. PREVIOUS BRIEFINGS

Previous briefings are available on the new website –www.flood2008.iowa.gov.

XI. SCHEDULE FOR TOMORROW

Governor Chet Culver
What: Governor Culver will be available in Des Moines to the media prior to Monday’s tour
Where: 132nd Fighter Wing
Des Moines International Airport
Des Moines, IA
When: When: 9:00 a.m.
What: Governor Culver will visit with residents, emergency responders and volunteers in Ottumwa.
Where: City lot
Market and River Drive
Ottumwa, IA
When: 10:30 a.m
What: Governor Culver will visit the Incident Command Center in Keokuk.
Where: Incident Command
8 Water Street
Keokuk, IA
When: 12:45 p.m.
What: Governor Culver will visit the Emergency Operations Center in Burlington.
Where: Burlington Emergency Operations Center
512 N. Main Street
Burlington, IA
When: 2:30 p.m.
What: Governor Culver will visit with residents, emergency responders and volunteers in Columbus Junction.
Where: Columbus Junction High School
1004 Colton Street
Columbus Junction, IA
When: 4:15 p.m.

Lt. Governor Patty Judge
What: Lt. Governor Patty Judge will hold a news conference to update on the flooding situation.
Where: Joint Forces Headquarters (formerly known as the STARC Armory)
Johnston, IA
When: 5:00 p.m.

NOTE: Satellite broadcast will be available during this press conference live. Transponder details will be available tomorrow.

Source: Iowa Governor

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