State emergency management officials are urging Iowans with floodedbasements to think twice before pumping out the water. A spokesman for thestate emergency management division Jerry Ostendorf says saturated soil creates greater pressure on basementwalls, and some homeowners have had their walls cave in after flood waterwas pumped out.Ostendorf says they “dodged a bullet” in northeast Iowa Saturday night as aquarter of an inch of rain fell, but no city got into a flood fight.Ostendorf urges Iowa flood victims to call the Federal Emergency ManagementAgency’s tele-registration number, 1-800-462-9029, to apply for federalgrants and loans.
