Keith Oppenheim: Midwest flooding danger persists

A woman carries items out of her flooded home on French Island near LaCrosse, Wisconsin

Keith Oppenheim is a national correspondent for CNN Newsource. He reported on this story from Guttenberg, Iowa.

Q: How much damage has the flooding done to homes and businesses so far?

Oppenheim: It's kind of spotty. There are certain places where the damage has been pretty bad, but for the most part the flood wall and dike system is protecting the mainland. There is one island just across from Guttenberg, Iowa and there's a couple of hundred people who live on that, and that's pretty well flooded and most of those people have been evacuated. The reason why it's flooded is because there is just no protection there. It's a low-lying spot, there's no flood wall, so the expectation is that when the river starts to get this high, those homes will be flooded.

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There are other towns in this area between Iowa and Wisconsin, which are somewhat more vulnerable. McGregor, Iowa, for example has had a number of homes and a hotel that has flooded. They are scrambling to build a make-shift dike there. But if the weather forecast goes as we hear it will, the chances are that where there are good flood walls and dikes that will be high enough to prevent the water from getting over the dike and into the communities. There is ground water, though, that is seeping up into people's homes—like in Guttenberg, Iowa, for example—where about 25 percent of the homes have groundwater that is bubbling up into the basement.

Right now, as floods go, it's still at a preliminary stage. It's not that bad yet. They're seeing a big threat right now. They also have a worry of more rain coming and it getting really bad in a couple of days. The area where we really should be talking about is Quad Cities, which are four communities on the Iowa – Illinois border about a hundred miles south of where I am in Guttenberg, Iowa. Davenport, Iowa is not that well protected. There is no great flood wall there. If the river crests as the National Weather Service predicts, it could be close to the 1993 record levels. So there is danger down there, but right now what I think we are seeing is the preliminary stages of the rising river.

Q: Over 400 miles of the Mississippi River has been closed to boats due to the flooding. What economic impact has this had on the area affected?

Oppenheim: Certainly, without barge traffic, it's basically like shutting down an airport or a bus terminal. There's really nothing moving except for a few motor boats. They have what is called a no-wake rule, so in fact yesterday we did go out on a small motor boat with a resident who gave us tour. You just can't go fast enough to create a wake. They don't want to create any more turbulence in an already fast-current river. So what you see are these big barges parked alongside the bank, and they're not moving because it is not safe.

Q: What about federal aid to these areas?

Oppenheim: There are now 19 communities between Wisconsin and Iowa that are eligible for state aid and potentially federal aid. Minnesota also has a number of counties that have been declared emergency areas, too. It really starts at the state level first where the money can be made available and then there's the possibility of federal aid. If there is significant damage, they can apply to Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Q: How much longer does the National Weather Service expect the flooding to last?

Oppenheim: In the Guttenberg, Iowa area where I am at, it'll probably be about three days from now when things should start to settle or begin to go down from peak. It's probably about six days away or so if you go south to the Quad Cities area. A flood is sort of like a slowly rolling potential disaster. As it goes down stream, depending on weather conditions and the currents and the flow of the river, it can cause new damage in new places as it moves. The worry is that with the rain coming in over the next few days, that down river from here could be hard hit.

Minnesota, Wisconsin watch flood-strained dikes
April 17, 2001
Flood predictions lowered, but Midwest rivers still rising
April 13, 2001

Minnesota Department of Public Safety
The National Weather Servicee

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