Residents of the unincorporated town of Finchford northwest of Cedar Falls are preparing for another flood. The Cedar River runs through the Black Hawk County town of 200 and is forecast to hit its third highest crest on record sometime Monday.
The pastor of the Finchford Community Bible Church, Jim Bauer, says sandbagging will start this evening. Bauer says volunteers from the nearby Janesville fire department will be there at 5:30 to help with the sandbagging. He says they went around last night and asked the homeowners who might be affected to make a plans, so they know where to sandbag tonight.
The National Weather Service predicts the river will reach 17 or 18 feet — flood stage is 12 feet. Bauer says past experience has everyone ready to take precautions. Bauer says after the predictions of last year, which were off by a couple of feet, he thinks everyone is "more gun shy or acceptable to making necessary preparations ahead of time."
No one is expected to be evacuated from Finchford. Flood warnings are also posted for the Skunk River at Oskaloosa and the Iowa River at Marengo, but only minor flooding of farm fields is predicted.