Flooding

OK, this is only peripherally related to the wedding, but I know a lot of people have been concerned about the flooding that has been going on in Iowa lately.  Instead of sending an update and pictures in a bunch of e-mails, we thought we'd just post something here and send everyone the link.  It is related to the wedding, though, in the sense that there is a question of how much the town will be cleaned up by August.  For example, here are some pictures from the Iowa City Press Citizen of the Marriott, one of the hotels where we have reserved rooms for our guests, and where Mike and I will be staying the evening of the wedding:

The back patio:


The parking garage:


They finally asked for people to help with sandbagging:


As the week has progressed, they have been closing more and more of the routes into and out of town, as most of them cross rivers and/or creeks. The Coralville Strip (Hwy 6), one of the major routes through town, particularly for in-town commuters, was finally closed Thursday evening. So yesterday morning Mike and I had to take an alternate route to work (actually it's my regular route, and it is usually very lightly used) which was basically one of the only routes left for employees of the University or University Hospitals who live in Coralville to get to work. Normally it takes me about 10 minutes to drive to my commuter lot, and then another 10 to 15 minutes for me to get the bus to the hospital and then walk in to my office. Yesterday, however, traffic was so bad that it took me 45 minutes even to get to the commuter lot, and then because I knew the bus (whenever it came) was going to have to get in the long line of stop-and-go traffic to the hospital, I decided to walk in to work from the commuter lot, which took about 40 minutes (and I was booking it as best I could in my sandals).

After work yesterday, Mike and I decided to check out some of the flooding for ourselves, so we pumped up our bike tires and rode down to take a look. I brought my camera...

Looking east on the Coralville Strip:






In this closer view, you can notice a submerged car:


The Sonic which opened last summer:


Mike took a picture with his phone and sent it to his friend Dan, who was so impressed that he promptly called back.

 Then we walked along 5th Street, which parallels Hwy 6 just to the north.

An evacuated apartment building:


The same building with the Wells Fargo building in the background. Wells Fargo is on the Strip and is Mike's bank. He's not worried about his money, but he's a little concerned about his safety deposit box, which they keep on the ground floor.


Looking down 5th Street towards First Avenue, which is a main route from I80 into town. 1st Ave has been closed since Tuesday or Wednesday of this week. The brick building you see in the distance is the Iowa Power Company restaurant, which is right on the Iowa River:




A little closer and you get a sense of how deep it is; especially notice the mailbox in the second photo:

They don't expect the river to crest until Tuesday, so the situation will get worse before it gets better. The University is closed and the University Hospital has closed all outpatient clinics and elective surgeries Monday and Tuesday of next week, partly in anticipation of staff shortages and partly to discourage people from traveling. But it has been heartening to see the community pulling together to help those in need. I don't know if any pictures have made the national news, but thousands of people have been helping fill sandbags around town, which are then trucked to wherever they are needed. If you follow the Iowa City Press Citizen link above, they have a link on their home page to the latest photos.

Our house is high and dry in Coralville. Our backyard (a steep hill) is draining rainwater and it has done quite a number on the yard, but no permanent damage. For us and for most of our closest friends this has all just been an inconvenience, but there are many others in town whose homes are devastated, and many University buildings are in danger. Yesterday they were recruiting volunteers to help remove rare and irreplaceable books from the basement of the University Library. I know everyone in the area appreciates your thoughts and prayers!