Cedar Rapids, Iowa Flood...

Below in an email from our son, TW, comments on the flooding in Cedar Rapids:

It is pretty bad here. The water crested on Friday at 31 feet I think. The Cedar Rapids water system was down to 25% of capacity so everyone was supposed to use water for drinking only. Our Marion system is totally seperate from theirs, but C.R. was tapping off ours for a while which caused us to have to ration too. They're not using ours anymore so I finally took a shower this morning, haha! The downtown is destroyed. One of our chuch families got flooded out. Part of the Interstate up here (I-380) goes over a lake/reservoir, and they closed the road because the water was getting too close. The Univ. of Iowa to the south of here is flooded bad. They just cancelled the summer session. We're doing alright though.

Pictures are worth a thousnad words...see below:

An aerial photo shows a flooded area of downtown looking North over Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Interstate I-380 can be seen at top while Mays Island, with Cedar Rapids City Hall, is seen on the left with its bridges under water. Floodwaters have inundated about 100 city blocks of Cedar Rapids, Iowa's second-largest city with 200,000 residents.

This aerial view shows Mays Island, the location of the City of Cedar Rapids City Hall, with nearby bridges completely underwater in downtown Cedar Rapids.

A man prepares his dinner on his roof as floodwaters carry debris past his house

Houses sit on a flooded street in Cedar Rapids, Iowa

House boats from the Ellis Marina on the Cedar River in Cedar Rapids lie jammed and destroyed against the Quaker Oats railroad bridge after breaking free from their moorings in downtown Cedar Rapids

First avenue looking southwest is flooded in downtown

An aerial photo shows Mercy Hospital as it takes on water in Cedar Rapids. The hospital eventually flooded and evacuated its patients after a levee break on the Cedar River
turned the downtown area into a shallow lake.

Abandoned cars sit in floodwaters in the parking lot of the
Quaker Oats plant in downtown Cedar Rapids.

A motorist drives down a flooded street in Cedar Rapids

Iowa's corn crop

Officials understand the frustration of Cedar Rapids residents who want to return home. They stress they are working to clear the evacuated area of all hazards to ensure a safe reentry. Sink holes, downed power lines and uncovered manholes remain a hazard. While the city’s water capacity has improved, residents are asked to conserve water.

Remember to pray for those during this time of need.