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rivkaI lived in Iowa City for five years.
Follow that link. Large parts of Iowa City, and Cedar Rapids, and eastern Iowa in general, are now underwater. They're closing part of I-80, one of the country's major east-west interstates. The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports that, due to the flooding of Cedar Rapids, most of eastern Iowa is about to lose Internet service. There are mandatory evacuations of thousands and thousands of homes.
It's pretty horrifying to read about. The chapel where Michael and I were married is expected to be underwater soon. The university art museum. The main university library. All of these buildings are expected to be flooded by the weekend, and the Iowa River isn't even expected to crest until the middle of next week.
Here's how bad the flood is expected to be: "UI had been bracing all at-risk facilities based on a measurement equation of the 100-year flood level plus one foot. Officials have added an additional 18 inches to that equation, which is how much higher they expect the river level to reach." The hundred-year flood level, plus two and a half feet. That's a bad flood.
What strikes me most, reading the coverage in the Press-Citizen, is how orderly and well-planned the disaster response is. And all of it seems to be being organized at the local level. Iowa City was badly flooded in the midwest floods of 1993 - they've been there before, and it shows.
Take this, for example:
And this:
My absolute favorite piece of soldiering-on is this:
Is there going to be a Hurricane Katrina reprise?
No: As with earlier evacuations, public safety personnel will inform residents in a direct, door-to-door canvas. Transportation will be provided to those who require it. Those without housing options will be transported to the Red Cross Shelter at the Johnson County 4-H Fairgrounds. Emergency pet care is available, call 356-5295.
It's not that difficult. You deal with people individually, door-to-door. You provide them with transportation to a safe place. You set up an established, well-supplied Red Cross Shelter. You make provisions for people's animals. Remember Bush's wide-eyed protest, after Katrina, that "no one imagined the levees would burst?" Apparently people at ground level in a disaster like this have no similar shortage of imagination. They know. They know to expect a hundred-year flood, plus two and a half feet.
If I were still in grad school, we'd be sandbagging right now. Or setting up cots at the Johnson County Fairgrounds. Or loading up book carts in the library and taking them upstairs. Or something. There would be something we could do to help.
I lived in Iowa City for five years. Now it's underwater, and there's not the slightest hope of improvement any time soon.
Follow that link. Large parts of Iowa City, and Cedar Rapids, and eastern Iowa in general, are now underwater. They're closing part of I-80, one of the country's major east-west interstates. The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports that, due to the flooding of Cedar Rapids, most of eastern Iowa is about to lose Internet service. There are mandatory evacuations of thousands and thousands of homes.
It's pretty horrifying to read about. The chapel where Michael and I were married is expected to be underwater soon. The university art museum. The main university library. All of these buildings are expected to be flooded by the weekend, and the Iowa River isn't even expected to crest until the middle of next week.
Here's how bad the flood is expected to be: "UI had been bracing all at-risk facilities based on a measurement equation of the 100-year flood level plus one foot. Officials have added an additional 18 inches to that equation, which is how much higher they expect the river level to reach." The hundred-year flood level, plus two and a half feet. That's a bad flood.
What strikes me most, reading the coverage in the Press-Citizen, is how orderly and well-planned the disaster response is. And all of it seems to be being organized at the local level. Iowa City was badly flooded in the midwest floods of 1993 - they've been there before, and it shows.
Take this, for example:
The Iowa City Animal Care and Adoption Center is transporting animals to the Johnson County 4-H Fairgrounds to prepare for potential flooding around the building at 111 Kirkwood Ave.
By Tuesday, 40 cats had been moved to a barn at the fairgrounds, 4261 Oak Crest Hill Road S.E., and two staff members moved among them Wednesday morning, cleaning cages and checking on the animals.
Also on Tuesday, loads of crates, food, housing and cleaning supplies were moved to the fairgrounds. Within the next few days, the rest of the animals, mostly dogs, will be moved, said Misha Goodman, director of the center. Some guinea pigs and cats have been placed in foster care. [...]
Eventually, the shelter probably will take up three buildings at the fairgrounds, one each for operations, cats and dogs. Goodman said staff will set up volunteer schedules and time for public visitation there. The center will stay open as long as possible.
"Our plan is to deal with facility animals prior to things getting out of hand with the public's animals," she said.
And this:
Though St. Luke’s and Mercy hospitals in Cedar Rapids have lost their electrical power and their steam supply, the most recent communication from those facilities is that they do not anticipate they will transfer patients here or to other health care centers.
The university believes that utilities to the [University of Iowa] hospitals and clinics can be maintained. The facility’s backup systems include:
-- Water: the tower along Hawkins Drive can meet the facility's needs for two days at full usage levels, more if rationing is instituted. There are also two access points to tie into the city’s water supply.
-- Electricity: backup generators have the capacity to meet essential power requirements.
-- Steam: A boiler was installed on the hospitals and clinics site for steam generation. Two portable steam-generating units are also being brought to the west side of campus to supply steam to facilities here, which would serve as a backup for UI Hospitals and Clinics.
-- Additional hospital supplies were ordered yesterday to ensure enough supplies are on hand.
My absolute favorite piece of soldiering-on is this:
Currently, the Main Library will remain open regular hours. Facilities engineers have placed the Main Library on this secondary evacuation list [i.e., the library is supposed to be evacuated by 5pm tomorrow]; however Libraries staff has already begun the process of relocating materials from the lower-level storage area to higher levels.
Is there going to be a Hurricane Katrina reprise?
No: As with earlier evacuations, public safety personnel will inform residents in a direct, door-to-door canvas. Transportation will be provided to those who require it. Those without housing options will be transported to the Red Cross Shelter at the Johnson County 4-H Fairgrounds. Emergency pet care is available, call 356-5295.
It's not that difficult. You deal with people individually, door-to-door. You provide them with transportation to a safe place. You set up an established, well-supplied Red Cross Shelter. You make provisions for people's animals. Remember Bush's wide-eyed protest, after Katrina, that "no one imagined the levees would burst?" Apparently people at ground level in a disaster like this have no similar shortage of imagination. They know. They know to expect a hundred-year flood, plus two and a half feet.
If I were still in grad school, we'd be sandbagging right now. Or setting up cots at the Johnson County Fairgrounds. Or loading up book carts in the library and taking them upstairs. Or something. There would be something we could do to help.
I lived in Iowa City for five years. Now it's underwater, and there's not the slightest hope of improvement any time soon.
