Mississippi cresting in southeastern Iowa; flood threat lessens

Illinois National Guard member Cadet Matt Carl stacks sandbags in a pile Wednesday, in Niota, Illinois

In this story: Flood wall dispute Missouri doesn't expect heavy flooding Red Cross coming to rescue RELATED STORIES, SITES

DAVENPORT, Iowa (CNN) -- Emergency officials began to look southward Wednesday as the Mississippi River flood crest moved through the Quad Cities area, and what they are seeing looks promising.

"Right now unless something changes significantly, or we lose a levee, we don't expect any major problems," said Iowa Emergency Management Director Ellen Gordon.

A 1,200-foot-long dike stands between downtown Davenport and the swollen Mississippi River. With days to go before the water recedes, residents looked to cleaning up the debris carried into the city by the brimming river.

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The river levels in southeastern Iowa are much lower than the records set in 1993.

"A lot of that has to do with lower levels on the Des Moines River," Gordon said. "Also, the Corps of Engineers have cut the flow on the Des Moines."

The forecasted crests on the Mississippi are 2 feet below the record at Muscatine, 4 feet below at Burlington, and 7 feet below at Keokuk.

In Davenport, the only major city on the upper Mississippi without a flood wall, the river was holding at 22.3 feet, where it crested Tuesday afternoon. The city's department of public works expected it to remain at crest level until Wednesday afternoon or night before it begins to recede.

The National Weather Service has forecast the river staying above flood stage for the next 10 to 14 days.

The Iowa National Guard has begun to scale back its presence along the Mississippi, pulling 30 troops off the riverfront, leaving about 180 guardsmen in Davenport.

"They are continuing levee security patrolling and sandbagging operations," said Guard spokesman Col. Robert King. Another 10 soldiers continue to help with similar operations in Marquette.

Flood wall dispute

Davenport has taken quite a bit of heat in recent days, especially from the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, for its decision not to build a permanent flood wall to protect its downtown area.

FEMA Director Joe Allbaugh -- who plans to survey damage in the area Thursday -- suggested last week that the city needed to take more steps to prevent flooding.

"The question is how many times will the American taxpayer have to step in and take care of this flooding, which could be easily prevented by building dikes and levees," he said.

City officials pointed out that Davenport had taken a number of steps to alleviate flood damage, such as spending more than $1 million since the 1993 flood to buy homes in flood-prone areas and setting more strict regulations for new construction.

Some river towns have been battling the high water for three to four weeks

Davenport Mayor Phil Yerington said a flood wall would not only diminish Davenport's ability to draw tourist and casino dollars to the riverfront, but would also push floodwaters farther downstream to smaller communities that also lack such protective construction.

A Coast Guard official praised the city's efforts with its temporary levee.

"The local people here have done just a marvelous job," said Lt. Cmdr. Tom Thomas. "A lot of hard work has gone into this. I'm highly impressed with what they've done here."

Iowa's emergency management director said the issue of a permanent flood wall "truly is a local decision" but suggested Davenport had not gotten the credit it deserves.

"They have done a lot of mitigating work around the area ... acquired flood-prone property," Gordon said, adding, "maybe there are some other choices regarding a flood wall."

Missouri doesn't expect heavy flooding

The high waters on the Mississippi have begun to impact river traffic along the Mississippi in central Missouri and southern Illinois.

The Coast Guard issued a river advisory for a five-mile stretch around the port of St. Louis, advising against "downstreaming" operations. The advisory requires all tows to have a minimum of 250 horsepower per 1,500 tons of cargo being towed, and requires vessels to operate at the slowest safe navigable speed to reduce wakes.

Coast Guard Lt. Chris O'Neil said a commercial traffic ban on more than 400 miles of the upper Mississippi, issued more than a week ago, will continue for now but is being evaluated daily.

State emergency management officials in Missouri said Wednesday they did not expect heavy flooding in their state, and were only taking precautionary measures as the floodwaters moved downstream.

Bob Stansberry checks pumps as he mans the sandwall around his Davenport, Iowa bar Wednesday

"Unless we get a storm system that stalls and dumps a lot of rain in the area in a short period of time, the Corps of Engineers says that we should not be having the amount of flooding problems that Iowa has been having," said Susie Stonner, a spokeswoman for the Missouri department of emergency management.

"Many of the cities are protected by levees," she said. "The levees should hold and there should be no problems."

On the other side of the river, Illinois emergency officials said they were optimistic their state would experience no flooding problems.

Chris Tamminga, spokeswoman for the state's emergency management agency, said officials had been providing inmate labor and deploying National Guard troops for sandbagging and other operations the past week-and-a-half as the high water moved in. "We'll continue to do so until there appears to be no threat to Illinois," she said.

One factor helping downriver states was that the Missouri, Illinois and Ohio rivers were not flooding as badly as in previous years, when they poured floodwaters into the already-swollen Mississippi. The past winter's snowpack in Missouri and southern Illinois also was not as great as previous years, leading to a smaller spring runoff, Stonner said.

Red Cross coming to rescue

As the floodwaters start to recede to the north and crest to the south along the Iowa-Illinois border, the American Red Cross has begun to deal with the aftermath, both material and mental.

Sandbags and concrete road barriers hold the swollen waters of the Mississippi River away from homes in Buffalo, Iowa

"As the water recedes there will be damage assessment," said Red Cross spokesman Peter Teahen. "Family services go out to see what people have lost, helping to replace furniture, beds, etc."

Mental health officials have been deployed to river communities up and down the upper Mississippi.

"The mental fatigue is a factor," Teahen said. "These floods are insipid ... it takes its toll."

Some river towns have been battling the high water for three to four weeks.

Iowa Gov. Tom Villsack, who declared the 10 Iowa counties along the river disaster areas as the crest approached last week, formally asked the federal government for disaster relief on Tuesday.

River crests earlier than expected in Davenport
April 24, 2001
Mississippi breaches levee in town near Davenport
April 23, 2001
Davenport ballpark flooded as Guard sends more troops
April 22, 2001
Iowa levees feel weight of Mississippi
April 21, 2001
More rain forecast for flooded Midwest
April 20, 2001
Long weekend of rain threatens flooded Midwest
April 19, 2001

Federal Emergency Management Agency
Iowa National Guard
Minnesota Department of Public Safety
The National Weather Servicee
Quad City Times Newspaper
  • Flood2001.com

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