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The rising Mississippi River tested flood defenses in southeast Iowa and northwest Illinois as it neared forecast crests in the area Monday, driven by a spring surge of water from melting snow. […]
The river is expected to crest at around 21.6 feet (6.6 meters) on Monday in the Quad-Cities area, where several neighboring cities sit along the Iowa-Illinois line. Some roads and parks near the river are closed. The record at that spot is 22.7 feet (6.9 meters).
Once the river crests in an area, it may take up to two weeks for the floodwaters to fully recede.
The flooding is expected to ease as the spring surge of water from melting snow works its way further down the 2,300-mile (3,700-kilometer) length of the river on its way to the Gulf of Mexico. Most of the tributaries in Iowa, Illinois and other Midwest states are running lower than usual, so they won’t exacerbate the flooding by dumping large amounts of water into the river.
Cleanup efforts are underway after a train derailed Thursday afternoon in southwest Wisconsin, sending two cars tumbling into the Mississippi River.
Officials said the derailment occurred about 12:15 p.m. near the villages of Ferryville and De Soto in Crawford County, about 30 miles south of La Crosse. Four members of the train crew were transported to the hospital for medical evaluation.
On Friday morning, Gov. Tony Evers tweeted that he was on his way to De Soto to survey the site and speak with emergency personnel.
A spokesperson for the railroad company, BNSF Railway, said the two cars that floated downriver contained non-hazardous “freight of all kinds.” Some of the cars that crashed and remained on land contained paint and lithium-ion batteries.
* Be safe out there…
Correspondent McNeil reporting from the Mississippi River shoreline. We won’t hit 1993 or 1965 flood levels, but this one packs a punch. pic.twitter.com/oKFDuxVMhe
— Porter McNeil (@PorterMcNeil) May 1, 2023
The power of Mississippi River flood waters rolling by our window in the reflected sun. River velocity seems higher. You can see the inundated trees on the Illinois side. #IaPolitics #Burlington pic.twitter.com/br89fikgjc
— Bob Krause (@KrauseForIowa) May 1, 2023
Closer to St. Louis the Mississippi is forecast to hit moderate flood stage of 22 feet in the Quincy area midweek. It isn’t cause for major concern, said John Simon, the emergency management director for Adams County.
“There’s going to be some roads that start to get flooded,” he said. “No major thoroughfares until we hit about 23 feet. Where we’re at is really in that monitoring phase.”
Simon said some lower-lying park and open land areas will see some flooding too. The county’s actions to respond to flooding mainly center around when the river hits the major flood stage at 26 feet, he added.
Additional rainfall in the coming days and weeks could make the river’s level rise or mean higher levels last longer, Simon said.
* QC Times…
For decades, Davenport city councils have opposed controversial plans to build a floodwall or levee, citing costs and such a structure impeding access to or views of the river. Instead, the city has opted to rely on a system of temporary sand-filled barriers and pumps, allowing riverfront parks to hold floodwaters, and buying up or tearing down property in flood-prone areas. […]
“When people do talk to me straight up with that, this is what I tell them: How do you want us to do this? Where would you like us to get the money?” [Davenport Mayor Mike Matson] said.
An estimate in 2014 put construction of a flood wall at $174 million, but Matson said more recent estimates would be much higher, more than half a billion dollars.
Instead, the city is just starting to implement a 2021-approved plan that starts underground in the storm sewers and would eventually raise parts of River Drive to protect the city up to river stage 22 feet without temporary barriers.
* Crest forecast…
Here is the latest forecast crest information for the Mississippi River. The river will be cresting from Fulton to Muscatine today and tonight. Be careful walking near riverbanks and don't drive around barricades or into flooded areas.
For more info: https://t.co/2H789NK4QX pic.twitter.com/0aXIrn2EWX
— NWS Quad Cities (@NWSQuadCities) May 1, 2023
* WQAD…
Savanna is doubling down its preparation just days from seeing waters approach downtown.
“They’ve built approximately 850 feet of wall in the past 48 hours,” Carroll County Emergency Management Jim Klienefter said.
More than a dozen inmates from prisons in East Moline and Kewanee pitched in to help build roughly 45,000 sandbags.
“The plans have really worked out well over the last 72 hours,” Klienefter said.
* Congressman Sorensen…
The flood walls are holding firm against the Mighty Mississippi in Rock Island, Illinois today. Thinking of everyone affected by flooding right now. #IL17 pic.twitter.com/umLYepGMyG
— Eric Sorensen (@ERICSORENSEN) April 30, 2023
* KTTC reports on North Buena Vista, Iowa…
In North Buena Vista, the neighborhood across the railroad tracks from the Mississippi River is several feet underwater, but at least a few area residents are still living in their flooded homes. […]
Scott Blum and Heath Davis are among those who have adapted to living in a semi-aquatic community. […]
“When the river comes up like this, it leaves a lot of mud, silt, you know what I mean, ‘cause it just sits out there,” Davis said. “And so I’m sure we’re going to have to scrape and clean and new rock on everything.” […]
“It’s kind of fun,” Blum said. “Before I lived by the river, and now I live in it.”
* Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported last week on the flooding…
The Army Corps has closed 18 locks and dams from the Twin Cities to Illinois because of high water levels, halting barge traffic during the river’s busy spring shipping season.
Some of them, like Lock and Dam 4 in Alma, closed because the water has overtopped the lock chamber where boats typically pass through, Moes said. Others closed because the rushing current was pushing barges too close to the dam.
“I’ve been here 13 years and I’ve never experienced the amount of closures we’re dealing with this year,” Moes said. “It’s truly a historic flood.”
A few may open again April 29, but that will ultimately depend on the flood conditions, he said.
* DTN…
So far, locks 1-10 are closed but expect to all be open by May 4. Locks 11 through 18 are closed with no opening dates forecast yet. The Mississippi River at Davenport, Iowa, and Rock Island, Illinois, (lock 15) is nearing record flood stage of 22.7 feet, but the crest is expected to be at 21.6 feet on May 2. However, the river there will be in major flood stage at least through May 8.
* Silver linings…
Priorities (captured by @MJSphotog) pic.twitter.com/jgNy9T0DK3
— Madeline Heim (@madeline_heim) April 28, 2023
posted by Isabel Miller
Monday, May 1, 23 @ 1:51 pm
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Silver lining indeed.
Comment by H-W Monday, May 1, 23 @ 2:00 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BK7P4Sgomtw
Comment by Dotnonymous Monday, May 1, 23 @ 3:18 pm