Flooding

The big news around Iowa is flooding. And more rain on the way--most of the state will be receiving 1-5 inches of rain in the next two days. Ames has stayed dry for the most part, but the rest of the state has not been as lucky. 53 of the state's 99 counties are flood disaster areas with 9 major rivers flooded. They're talking about this being a 500 year flood with 1993 being a hundred year flood.

Waverly, my college town, is under water. Above is a shot of the downtown area. Farther north and west, my parents said that their county has run out of barricades and have started to use snow fence to block off roads. Mason City is under water and they didn't have drinking water for a few days. The Saylorville Dam just north of Des Moines couldn't hold any more water and it went over the emergency spillway last night. They decided to lower the gates to save Des Moines from a giant rush of water and to give time for sandbagging. The water reached downtown late this morning and so far it's off the bridges though some has reached Court Avenue. Both the lake and the river aren't expected to crest until Sunday afternoon. Check out the Des Moines Register for photos around the state.

More severe weather on the way--just got of the phone with my dad and a tornado that killed 4 at a boy scout camp is headed their way. More rain, more storms. It's supposed to be sunny this weekend, but I'm worried about what will happen in the meantime.