Cedar River expected to crest Tuesday below record levels
Following a day of evacuations, Cedar Rapids residents find themselves with a few extra hours to prepare for the Cedar River to crest.
Cedar Rapids authorities asked residents of about 5,000 homes near the river to voluntarily evacuate by Sunday at 8 p.m. Not all residents in the area decided to leave, and they were asked to stay in their homes starting last night for a curfew that will be enforced nightly from 8 p.m to 7 a.m. until the flooding is over.
Linn County Emergency Management Public Information Officer Micky Miller said National Guard Troops are monitoring about 75 check points in Linn County for the safety of residents, particularly for those who chose to not to evacuate.
Though the National Weather Service originally predicted the Cedar River would crest at 23 feet in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday morning at 7, the time of the crest is now predicted for 1 p.m. Tuesday. The crest will still be 11 feet above flood stage but well below the record 31.12 feet record set during the devastating flooding in 2008.
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Miller said Linn County residents have done an excellent job of using the days before the flooding to prepare and help their community members.
"There's been a real pulling together of the community," Miller said. " I think its a combination of having more time to prepare and that a lot of people who are going though this now have also been through it in 2008."
In Vinton, a Benton County community about 35 miles northwest of Cedar Rapids, the river rose dramatically Sunday, up nearly 6 feet in a 24-hour period ending at 5 p.m. Iowa Highway 150 was closed in both directions between U.S. Highway 218 and County Road E16, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation.
The river was scheduled to crest in Vinton on Monday morning at 21.5 feet, which is below the 2008 record of 24.6 feet.
FLOOD 2016 COVERAGE:
- Sunday: Residents of 5,000 Cedar Rapids homes asked to evacuate
- Saturday: River continues to rise as Cedar Rapids braces
- Friday: Eastern Iowans prepare for near-record flooding
- Friday: 8 years after flood, Cedar Rapids lacks new levees
MORE: Evacuation map
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