Flood of '08

So, here I am in Iowa City and to say that I'm sitting on a lone island is pretty accurate. I am currently at the hospital-called in overtime- because the surrounding area of Iowa City through Waterloo is flooded so badly that people can't even get to the hospital. In fact, my drive (which normally takes 10 minutes) took me 40 minutes to get here. And, since arriving here, the coralville strip near 1st ave has officially flooded, so now my drive will have to take me all the way near 218 and back to the strip then on 12th ave to cross I-80. Oh, and speaking of I-80, it closed this evening at 8pm. The exact location of the closing is still unclear but is rumored to be from exit 239-247. For those of you not familiar with the area, it's the entire area surround Iowa City and the connecting exits between going north to Cedar Rapids and east to about West Branch (or so I'm told). The major arteries into Iowa City are also flooded.

Now, a positive note...I am safe from flood waters. My friend's house at which I currently reside is on high ground and our only inconvenience will likely be restrictions on sewer and water. I am going to the store tonight when I get off work (midnight) to stock up on some items such as water and pantry items (should we lose power in Coralville). I will also make an attempt to drive to Des Moines tomorrow to see my grandma who just got out of the hospital today. Hopefully I-80 is not closed anywhere between 239 and Altoona.

For those of you not here (which is the majority of our readership) you can get a pretty good update on how things are going by checking out the press citizen website.

I went out and took pictures with my cell phone (lame, I know, but Chris has the cameras) and Norm took some with her camera, so when I get them uploaded I'll make another post. The pics are from Tuesday before the Coralville spillway went over.

I'll sign off for now and get back to work. Just wanted to keep you all up to date on what's happening here.

Oh, and by the way, the worst is yet to come...Iowa City is not expected to reach it's peak until mid-next week. UH!