Being an ISU student, I have to show these photos. Ames, Iowa--the town where my college (Iowa State University) is located--is in really bad shape due to the near-record flooding of Squaw Creek. A lot of places in Iowa are flooding right now. It's a tragic and scary reminder of the Floods of 2008 and the farther back Floods of '93. There is some flooding around my hometown right now, which is where I am at... but Ames is just really, really bad.
Many of the main roads are completely under water. Because of a water main break, many Ames residents have also been without water---no showers, no flushing toilets, etc. Grocery stores sold out of bottled water within hours as everyone stocked up. While some people now have water, they are under the boil rule. No water can be consumed without boiling it first because water may have become contaminated. Because it may take a while for contamination tests to be taken and examined, this boil rule may be in effect for at least a week.
I'm completely amazed to see this much water in a place that I've walked/driven along soooo many times. It's amazing and sickening and terrifying.
It's also incredibly heartbreaking.
A lot of people are pulling together in this time of need. Sometimes in the face is disaster, a community really shows its strength. 
I was supposed to move in to my apartment this Sunday and start working on Monday... but I'm not sure that's going to happen. The two main highways to get into Ames are impassible. It's going to be one of those "wait and see" kinda things. Since I'm still in my hometown, I did talk to my roommate to get a firsthand account of all this flooding. She says it's awful and that while our apartment is fine (since it is on a bit of a hill) there are nearby apartments that have been flooded. She has water, but again it cannot be consumed without boiling. And everyone is urged to be conservative with water usage.
I'm not sure what's going to happen. A LOT of the town and school has been flooded. Incoming students have either just arrived or are getting ready to. And we might have more rain in the forecast this weekend. :S
My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone who is affected by this flood---in Ames, in the area around my hometown, and across Iowa. Six or seven inches of rain... water comes up sooo fast... and there's hardly any time to react.
Hopefully I'll have positive updates soonly.
(All photos in this post are from the Des Moines Register. No copyright infringement intended.)
2 comments:
I'm glad you and your apartment is ok, and I hope everything is fixed soon!
This reminds me of the flooding we had this past winter/spring up here in New England. The entire state of Rhode Island was shut down.
I commute to school and was almost trapped because almost every road/highway out of the school was closed due to flooding.
My house unfortunately flooded as well..six feet of water in one day.
I hope everyone is alright and that you and your fellow classmates can go to school without the flooding getting in the way.
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