There are flood warnings issued in far northwest Iowa as water levels continue to rise after eight inches of rain fell last night.
Rock Valley Mayor Kevin Van Otterloo is closely monitoring the Rock River that runs north of the town of 4,000 in Sioux County as more rain is expected. It reached record levels during devastating flooding ten years ago, and it could get there again. “It’s going to be pretty close. We’re hoping we’re gonna make it through this one, but time will tell,” he says.
The projections are pretty close to the 22.7 inches for the crest in 2014. During the past several years, Rock Valley built berms to protect property and people. Sandbagging is underway not only in Rock Valley but other communities in nearby Lyon and Plymouth counties. Van Otterloo says evacuations could be ordered.
“We just pray that nobody gets injured. Nobody gets hurt, that we’re all going to work together again and protect the city and protect the homes and all the citizens here in town,” Van Otterloo says. Rock Valley will decide sometime this afternoon if it will evacuate the northern part of the city. Other nearby communities also fearful of flooding include Sioux Rapids, Hawarden, and Akron.
The Clay County Sheriff’s Office says a woman who tried to drive through a flooded roadway in rural Spencer went into a waterfilled ditch and had to be rescued by two people entered the water, broke the rear window and removed the woman. Within minutes after the rescue, the vehicle was fully under water.
(By Sheila Brummer, Iowa Public Radio)