Massive Flooding In The Midwest
Overflowing rivers in Iowa and other Midwest states forced evacuations and disrupted the region's economy on Friday with fears of worse to come from fragile levees and more rain.
A Cedar Rapids hospital was flooded and evacuated its patients after a levee break on the Cedar River turned the downtown area into a shallow lake. Thousands were forced to leave their homes in the worst Midwest flooding in 15 years. [..]
Iowa Gov. Chet Culver said the damage to his state could cost billions of dollars. Scores of bridges spanning nine overflowing rivers have been swept away or weakened.
Clean, safe drinking water is a major concern right now. If there are local rescue agencies that can help in all the affected areas, please leave their names in the comments for other C&Lers.
Is this going to be a repeat of Katrina?
No.
During Katrina FEMA said it was doing everything it could to help the victims in New Orleans.
This time FEMA is saying it will do nothing.
They have stopped lying.
I am waiting for the first religious kook to blame these peoples plight on 'America's sins' such as gay marriage or what have you.
Site Monitors ... The video you have up is about France and the Iranian Nuclear issue.
che cosa è errato qui?
NickR @ 2:
yeah, but their right in the middle of the bible belt. what's that say?
♠Bangkok-Bob♠ in Chiang Mai @ 4:
They are being punished by God for not moving their state farther away from Canada, where gay marriages are allowed.
Here in Des Moines, a levee broke this morning north of town. Put a good section of that part of town under water. That's the worry now. A lot of the levee's have been holding back the water for more than a week. They are afraid of them failing, and some are.
xoites defends Constitution @ 1:
Indiana has it's share of woe right now. Someone posted a link, I think yesterday, from Indianapolis media that stated FEMA was there "looking the situation over" but it would take 30 days to assess.
Picture this: 50 guys in FEMA jackets, standing in a group. *heads swivel in unison*. "Yup Bob, I guess it looks like a flood." "But we won't know if it really is a flood for 30 days". "Yah Joe, guess you're right. Time to go home."
♠Bangkok-Bob♠ in Chiang Mai @ 3:
Something is up with the Reuters' embed coding. I tried it over and over and kept getting the Iran story instead of the flood. I've replaced it with raw footage from the Des Moines Register of the extent of the flood.
I'm not a religious kook but I do believe in karma. The tyrant says that God told him to invade Iraq, how does he know it wasn't the devil. I think it's weird how 2 U.S. Troops were killed in Iraq and 4 U.S. Troops killed in Afghanistan, yesterday not to mention thousands of Taliban prisoners scurrying out of that bombed prison, Iran AND Iraq telling Bush where to go, and it's like it never even happened yesterday according to the Drudge Report. The dark cloud of cognitive dissonance hangs heavy over the homeland.
http://www.drudgereport.com/
Instead of sending billions of borrowed worthless dollars to Iraq, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, we should worry about our selves. I'm not an isolationist but the best way to stop the blowback of terrorist tactics would be to stop screwing with other nations!
I was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and attend the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, both of which have been declared officially "under water" and evacuated. I've been studying in Poland since February and am ready to come home at the end of the month. Hopefully there'll be a home to come back to. =/
Was there some sort of gay parade scheduled this weekend in Iowa City?
That would explain the biblical-style flooding.
This is more ammunition to use against the republicans.
Fema does nothing while people lose homes or die.
Let's thank the filthy ugly chimp bastard of a president for making FEMA such a useless organization.
I'm also waiting for BushCo to get some cronies that will profit over the destruction done by this flood. Maybe another batch of trailer homes that are too toxic for human habitation?
BushCo is going to try to get away with committing more crimes against U.S. citizens. They need to be punished in the worst possible manner.
I am so sorry and worried for anyone caught up in a serious flood situation right now, and I feel so helpless knowing there's nothing I can do. We've got some bad areas up here as well - just north of us in Wisconsin.
Our thoughts are with you all.
FEMA debacles alone are reason enough to through the republi-CAN'Ts out of government.
*
Could someone provide the number of actual National Guard personel actually residing in Iowa at this very moment.
Now give me the same number of those stationed in Iraq or Afghanistan.
No! Keep FEMA away from us! Much of DM here is under water, and those incompetents would just make it worse.
Here's hoping I can get to the airport Monday.
When I heard that this could be worse than 1993's flood I was reminded how destructive this has become. I remember 1993's floods and how the Mississippi took out alot of homes
One clear indicator of the effects of climate change are weather pattern extremes like these, where massive rains plague one region while severe drought plague another neighboring regiol.
For those of you with pets, don't forget that Red Cross shelters cannot take the pets that owners bring with them (because they provide food, the Red Cross has to follow the same rules that many restaurants do). The United Animal Nations has an emergency response team called EARS that will set up an emergency shelter that people can bring their pets to in the event of emergencies. Given enough volunteers, they can also actively search for abandoned pets and shelter them until the owners are able to pick them up.
If you cannot volunteer time, please at least volunteer a few dollars. Many people refuse to leave their homes because they are forced to leave their beloved pets behind. Saving these animals also means saving the lives of owners that refuse to abandon them.
Heckuva job Bushie, you trollish little ****tard....
No offense, but after reading these comments, can we focus more on helping the people in the middle of this right now? Bringing up FEMA's past failures and Rev. Parsley's (or was it Hagee's? I don't remember right now) comments on the fate of New Orleans is something we should be doing after we help the people affected by the flooding.....
For links to the Red Cross efforts.
http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/amandascott/gG5GgJ
Meanwhile in Texas we're skirting on 100 degrees, and with the heat index have gone over it, with no rain in sight.
The midwest flooding is destroying our corn crops, so not only will that mean higher prices at the grocery store for corn products, high-fructose sweetened snacks and beverages, and meat costs due to corn being fed to farm animals, but also higher fuel costs due to an expected increase in ethanol manufacturing costs.
odanny @ 16:
I too remember the Flood of 1993 and I also remember then Congressman Jim Nussle (R-2nd Disctrict) say that emergency funds should not be spent unless matching cuts could be found elsewhere in the Federal government. Too bad he is now the White House Budget Director!
Iowa is a beautiful state and I hate to see it destroyed so. I just hope all of my friends and family still there survive and survive the "clean up".
Why is it so many Americans are more willing to cite a vengeful God as the cause of disasters, but not global climate change?
Gretchen @ 7:
Indiana has it's share of woe right now. Someone posted a link, I think yesterday, from Indianapolis media that stated FEMA was there "looking the situation over" but it would take 30 days to assess.
Picture this: 50 guys in FEMA jackets, standing in a group. *heads swivel in unison*. "Yup Bob, I guess it looks like a flood." "But we won't know if it really is a flood for 30 days". "Yah Joe, guess you're right. Time to go home."
A similar situation happened to my town, in S. Illinois a couple summers back. There were 100+ mph winds that struck our town, knocking out power for half the citizens. Trees were every where. It was the end of July, when temps where easily a hundred, in the shade. Red cross helped out a bit, but FEMA said it wasn't bad enough to do anything. This past winter, there were a lot of floods in S. Il, again FEMA said it wasn't bad enough to do anything.
What do they consider bad enough? People losing homes and loved ones isn't bad enough to help out a situation? FEMA is just as worthless as the President.
NickR @ 2:
I have a disturbing video released days after Katrina in which an Army Captain said they were patroling NoLa with a chaplain to 'excorsize' demons. He considered it an 'evil' city.
That is from our military.
The flooding in the midwest is clearly demonic with an arabic accent.
I would love to be able to help the people in the midwest. Unfortunately my budget is very tight. My goverment has sent our resources off to Iraq so they could create an Unnatural Disaster and funnel huge [what an inadequate word in this case] amounts of money into the bank accounts of connected private contractors.
This is what government is supposed to be for; helping us in times of disaster, improving our health and well being.
The idea that the government shirks its responsibility and looks to us to solve problems like these is obscene!
Having said that, i support the efforts of anybody who is able to to help the people in dire need right now.
Are most people that have immediate concerns (ie at risk of drowning) at least evacuated to safer ground, or are there people still trapped in home, on rooftops, a-la Katrina?
Are there shelters where water and food can be got to people?
(I don't mean to sound ignorant, but I don't have cable, and right now at least, only infomercials and cartoons are on the big 3 in the East; guess it's just not that important to the networks.)
ysbaddaden @ 22:
Good question. ... and why, when bush heard that voice in his head telling him to invade Iraq did he think it was god? Wouldn't that be the "other" make-believe guy?
Better yet, why do we give schizophrenics any notice when they blurt out this garbage.
In my mind Bush is about less valid than some poor person with Tourette's syndrome Who can't help but yelp out absurdities.
Cable is mourning Russert, fastfeat. You know as much as we do.
It has more to do with zoning.
I was born in Indiana and have seen this sort of thing (and major tornados) many times.
The flooding is tragic for those flooded. But the flooding isnt that wide spread - not as wide spread as it would appear from that video. (I'm not understating the harm done)
Two things need to happen.
1) recovery for the sake of those harmed
2) acceptance that things like floods (mudslides etc ) happen and are a part of nature with appropriate adjustments to zoning laws. Having a city on the banks of a river made great sense prior to the age of powered vehicles. (Transportation etc) Today, it isnt needed and should be discouraged. It may be scenic, but it is also doomed for habitation. (Controlling rivers and preventing flooding is terrible for the environment)
Here is a major flood http://www.glaciallakemissoula.org/
The flood victims are in my thoughts.
xoites defends Constitution @ 29:
Yeah, I know. No disrespect to the man, but for christsakes, at least preempt the Sat hours of infomercials!!
And that goes for you guys at PBS too; I'll support your programs if you give me some f*cking news!
"I am 13 years old and I live in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I went downtown to help sandbag with a fellow family. We were immediately confronted with a serious problem. The major part of downtown was flooded. But we worked with others to load our pickup with sandbags and try our best to get through the muck. Jumping curbs, we made it to a small restaurant. It was very sad, and I was depressed at the sight before me. Her basement had been flooded and all the food was floating in its freezers. We immediately began sandbagging, and after several loads, we completed our mission, although the restaurant basement was filled with water and the main area had about an inch on the ground. Before we were told to evacuate, I asked the owner, "Do you have flood insurance" The response was horrific, she did not, and she said most others in the downtown area were in the same situation. No one could have seen this coming-all the adults said this flood beat out the one in '93."
He also took pictures.
http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-34520
Our thoughts are with you there in the affected areas. And our apologies that we couldn't get an effective government in place before your disaster occured. We tried!
As an additional note - farming is probably appropriate near areas that can flood. My above comment referred to dwellings mainly. (Even non-habitable industrial areas may be okay in flood zones)
speaking of fluids, it cost me over 60 bucks to fill a 2006 VW rabbit today in upstate n.y.. With regular mind you..
Is W smiling today?
Smirking.
rend @ 36:
There are residents in Phoenix that use a device (from Europe) that mounts in the garage and is connected to their natural gas lines to fill up their car which was converted to CNG for under $1000. In Mesa (part of the Phoenix area) they are paying the equivalent of $1.13 per gallon by filling up at home using natural gas. We have lots of natural gas and it is cleaner than gas. It is NOT a long term solution but we are already distributing it to nearly every home and cars can burn it easily. Short term, it could have benefit and save money. (Which is probably why you arent hearing about it)
http://www.myphill.com/
(I have no associating with this - just posting info)
Levees Breached in Des Moines, Forcing Evacuation
NPR.org, June 14, 2008 · Officials in Des Moines, Iowa, have ordered a mandatory evacuation as a second levee in the city fails under the cresting Des Moines River.
Early Saturday morning, the river breached a permanent levee, flooding a nearby high school. Crews rushed to set up a temporary sand levee, but the rain-swollen river pushed through that barrier hours after it was erected.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91515513
Be very carefull with gas lines. You can easily convert your house into match sticks in under ten minutes.
xoites defends Constitution @ 41:
That isnt what that is.
It must be installed by a contractor and it is to spec.
I agree. This is something you dont do yourself. This is manufactured to code. It probably isnt any more dangerous than your hot water heater.
... but then, I dont have one - I'm just assuming.
xoites defends Constitution @ 40:
I wonder if they misstated that. I wonder if the levee could be breached with just a swollen river.
It may have been topped not breached. The difference is that if breached, even after flood levels subside, they are going to have a flooding problem. If topped. they wont.
Zilam @ 23:
A similar situation happened to my town, in S. Illinois a couple summers back. There were 100+ mph winds that struck our town, knocking out power for half the citizens. Trees were every where. It was the end of July, when temps where easily a hundred, in the shade. Red cross helped out a bit, but FEMA said it wasn't bad enough to do anything. This past winter, there were a lot of floods in S. Il, again FEMA said it wasn't bad enough to do anything.
What do they consider bad enough? People losing homes and loved ones isn't bad enough to help out a situation? FEMA is just as worthless as the President.
FEMA assistance depends on where disaster hits these days. If it involves the poor loosing everything, well, not bad enough to assist, if it were the wealthy FEMA would be setting up shelters with caviar and designer bottled water. The poor don't count to this administration, only those who have millions do. We need to strike, refuse to shop for anything but necessities, including only enough food to survive, no snacks, soft drinks or bottled water either. Then refuse to work and watch the rich hot shots panic. The working people is what drives this country but don't get any of the benefits. It would actually be fun to sit back in a situation like this and watch the heads explode. Let them know that we deserve just as much as those who sit on their fat asses and collect the money that the rest of us slave to provide. Until we rise up together we can expect nothing but more of the same.
32 fastfeat Says: xoites defends Constitution @ 29:
Cable is mourning Russert, fastfeat. You know as much as we do.
Yeah, I know. No disrespect to the man, but for christsakes, at least preempt the Sat hours of infomercials!!
And that goes for you guys at PBS too; I’ll support your programs if you give me some f*cking news!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjSVLxIQWzc
It sucks to be a city hit with a natural disaster any year, but it especially sucks now in the Katrina/New Orleans era. Pretty much guaranteed that these cities won't get rebuilt, and the people will get little or no help from the government. Except maybe for those from the wealthy little gated enclaves who gave generously to GOP campaign coffers.
If these disasters keep up, and McCain is president, in a decade or so there won't be any American cities left!
I'm sure that if Bush thinks Iowa will vote red this November that he'll get FEMA right on it. No worries.
Regarding the flooding in the mid-west: Maybe it's God's way of punishing the Bible Belt for their role in putting GW in the Whitehouse, twice.
breached vs. topped
In Iowa, levees are mostly earthworks.
When they top, the water flowing over the top tends to cut a gap in the levee via erosion. It's a positive-feedback cycle: the deeper the gap, the faster the water, the greater the rate of erosion, the deeper the gap, and so on until a wide gap is created, eroded down to the level of the later stages of the flood.
Update from Cedar Rapids
We're still consuming more water than the city can output. According to a voluntary poll on the Gazette site, only 11.7% say they aren't conserving, while 88.3% of the city are (I can tell you, we're getting a bit ripe around here. Myself included.) Rockwell Collins is still open, but they say they're not using water. There are coffee shops open, and it's angering some. Most businesses who are heavy water consumers have shut down.
The shelters had requested additional items, like strollers, pillows, clothing, etc. It seems they have enough. Cedar Rapidians are quick to answer the needs of our fellow citizens.
The water is receding, but it's slow. As I type there's a couple of huge thunderstorms moving across the state (with a tornado warning to boot). Local weather warned that if we get enough rain, it could take longer for the river to fall.
We've been declared a Presidential Disaster Area. FEMA is taking calls from individuals who've been affected. They've also got bottles of water and MREs standing by--but we're a population of 140,000, and that'll take a lot of bottled water.
Could-Be Rumors: Our water runs out tomorrow. The city'll issue a mandatory close order for all businesses, including grocery stores.
For Iowa City, local news reported that the flood waters will soon cut off one side of the city from the other. They're asking people to stay on the side they're at now (West side or East side).
Marcus M @ 54:
Nope its a blue county.
I am a resident of Cedar Rapids, I live 75 feet above the flood plain and 1 mile from the river (about 10 blocks from Mercy hospital). We were never in any danger of water. I moved here with my family in 1997.
Photos I have collected
What I can't believe is they put the... Main City Library, 4 Museums, a Federal Courthouse/Jail, County courthouse/Jail, City hall, Police dept, Sheriffs office, 2 fire dept stations, all 4 city water pumping stations, waste treatment facility, 1 coal fired power plant, 1 Nuclear power plant, numerous industrial parks all in the 500 year flood plain. The best part to me is they didn't build the foundations/bases of buildings above the 500 year flood plain so once it breached the JOKE of a levee system all those buildings were flooded. Pure genius is absolutely amazing... My main saying prior to the crest was "Floods expose incompetence". Whoever designed the city of Cedar Rapids needs a medal for incompetence. I remember thinking when we moved here that they must really have the Cedar River under control, no way would you put all this stuff in here with a puny levee system unless you knew the river was safe... Guess again. Something like 20,000 homes are flooded. On the bright side property values out of the flood plain just got higher.
Iowa city gets it next, that will be worse. Sounds like a crest Tue/Wed. I would go to IC to help but it is a 281 mile drive that requires going through Des Moines, its a mess here.
that video was perfect... no talking, no voice-over... powerful pictures.
I wonder Bush is playing guitar today?
I grew up in western Iowa in Sioux City, I've never seen anything on this scale, very sad. I guess I should be glad to live the God forsaken desert, though I curse it every day.
ysbaddaden @ 23:
Because God can be appeased without giving up your gas guzzler. The laws of physics are just a little less forgiving than imaginary friends who blame everything on homosexuals.
But, look, it would be hasty to do anything about climate change before all the science is in, right? I mean, it's just a THEORY, right?
Yeah, wouldn't want to jump the gun on something like this.
JaimeFuffufnik @ 50:
Holy f'ing CRAP!!! Truly amazing pics!
Is the nuclear facility in any danger? Did it shut down?
Best of luck and God bless!
Where are the riots, rapes, and mass looting? Isn't that how people react in floods?
Chris @ 55:
Only in DC...
"Are most people that have immediate concerns (ie at risk of drowning) at least evacuated to safer ground, or are there people still trapped in home, on rooftops, a-la Katrina?
Are there shelters where water and food can be got to people?"
There are several shelters set up. But, many are staying with family in the area. The shelters have food and water and medical care. There are still some people that refused to evacuate when told to and now trapped on upper stories. Mostly because they had/have animals and Red Cross shelters won't take animals (except handicap assistance dogs).
"I am a resident of Cedar Rapids, I live 75 feet above the flood plain and 1 mile from the river (about 10 blocks from Mercy hospital). We were never in any danger of water. I moved here with my family in 1997.
Photos I have collected
What I can’t believe is they put the… Main City Library, 4 Museums, a Federal Courthouse/Jail, County courthouse/Jail, City hall, Police dept, Sheriffs office, 2 fire dept stations, all 4 city water pumping stations, waste treatment facility, 1 coal fired power plant, 1 Nuclear power plant, numerous industrial parks all in the 500 year flood plain. The best part to me is they didn’t build the foundations/bases of buildings above the 500 year flood plain so once it breached the JOKE of a levee system all those buildings were flooded. Pure genius is absolutely amazing… My main saying prior to the crest was “Floods expose incompetence”. Whoever designed the city of Cedar Rapids needs a medal for incompetence. I remember thinking when we moved here that they must really have the Cedar River under control, no way would you put all this stuff in here with a puny levee system unless you knew the river was safe… Guess again. Something like 20,000 homes are flooded. On the bright side property values out of the flood plain just got higher."
Remember most of downtown was built over one hundred years ago. Mays Island has never flooded in the manner it did this week. Even in the Floods of '93. The old record for the Cedar River was 20 feet, set in 1851 and 1929. In the Floods of '93 the flood level was 19-19.5 feet. The Cedar crested yesterday at 31.21 feet.
Look at the sat data from the storm that caused the flooding.
It appeared out of 'nowhere'. Ir and WV high and low alt indicators show
the massive storm appearing from within an area of dry air.
Thats Impossible. Unless someone helped with technology.
And they did.
Is anyone in the know?
Chris, to answer your question:
Only if the federal government ignores you and the state government has most of its resources stuck in Iraq.
In all seriousness, the demographics of rich versus poor is totally different in Iowa over those who the neocons pretended didnt exist when the levees broke in New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain, the mighty Mississippi and all the industrial canals swamped a city with thousands of desperately poor were trapped in.
If only we could spend 12 billion a month on struggling cities like Des Moines and New Orleans instead of throwing it down a rathole in Iraq
Writing this from Iowa City area.
We are a very liberal, Big Ten University community. Iowa is not exactly the Bible Belt, but there are those who are active in the Religious Right. Generally, the state goes Blue, but not in every case.
The University of Iowa is underwater on its Arts Campus- the Main Library, Hancher Auditorium, Music Buildings, the Art Museums, the Journalism Building, the English-Philosophy Building, the Education Building, the Lindquest Building (where all the Main Frame computers are located), the Student Union, The Engineering Building, etc - generally those buildings within 2-3 blocks from the Iowa River. The University power plant is down/flooded. The west campus including the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics are fine as is the athletic campus. Several dorms, including the Mayflower dorm and Hawkeye Court Apartments are under water. In Iowa City and Coralville (a suburb of Iowa City) there are many residential areas under water. Many businesses on the "Coralville strip" are under a great deal of water after a levee broke down. The worst part is the road blocks due to water - can't get from one side of town to the other. I-80 is closed east of town and I-380 is closed north of town as are many state roads and local streets. It is projected to only get worse as the crest is not due until Tuesday. Water is starting to recede in some area to the north, and there is extensive damage to infrastructure, including roads and bridges and of course homes and businesses.
All around the state there is major flooding: Cedar Rapids (30 miles north), Waterloo-Cedar Falls (75 miles north), Des Moines (120 miles west of Iowa City), Davenport (60 miles east), Burlington (100 miles south) and Dubuque area (100 miles northeast) and all points in between. The Des Moines River, Iowa River, the Cedar River, the Wapsi River and many others are all seeing record flood stages.
Iowans are very close knit and resourceful. We will need FEMA in the long run, but the State was prepared for this - unlike NOLA, we also had some warning allowing for preparations that NOLA never had. We have plenty of shelters, food, water, etc. In Iowa City, unlike Cedar Rapids, we have a new water plant that they built after the 1993 floods, so it is projected to be OK. Cedar Rapids is having serious water problems. They also have power outages. Iowa City does not have power outages except on the campus so far. Qwest internet and phone service is down locally. For more information and photos go to the Iowa City Press Citizen, Cedar Rapids Gazette online or KCRG.com the local ABC station.
One thing I have noticed is that the Iowa National Guard is a much less visible force than in 1993 - we have a large National Guard in Iowa, and most of the units are in the Middle East. Thank goodness for the Red Cross, they are out in force. If you want to help Iowans (thank you for that) then send donations to the Red Cross or Salvation Army. Also, call your Congress representatives/Senators and tell them to bring home the Guard/Troops!!!
Like Katrina, but thankfully without the hurricane, the bodies floating in the water, Superdome, etc. I know the character of the people of Cedar Rapids; they are generally good people who care about and help each other, especially in times like this. You can be sure most of them are taking heed to use as little water as possible to conserve the supply for everyone.
I don't know about flaws of the design of the city re: levees. I tend to think this is the result of global warming, and weather is generally going to become more and more erratic. I'm not sure a sudden 31 ft. river crest could have been predicted. Of course, now we know.
"The Des Moines River, Iowa River, the Cedar River, the Wapsi River and many others are all seeing record flood stages."
And these record breaking flood levels is not by a few inches, or a couple of feet, but 7-15 feet above previous records.
Good news is that another pump station is out of the water. They might be able to get it running by sometime tomorrow. The Red Cross managed to get some semis full of bottled water up here to CR and are giving it away to all comers.
The local Red Cross is Grant Wood Area Red Cross.
Only 2100 National Guard has been mobilized for this crisis. Not sure of the total number we have and how many have been sent to Iraq. But, I agree with msskwesq that it's no where near the number we had out helping in '93.
As one who lives in the region..
I must say that it looks and feels as though the earth is very upset with us... and is looking to remove us en masse...(its getting worse and worse every year)
Her husband ... God must be really pissed off we have allowed the Blue Blood scumbag fucking criminals to wage havok ...
Part of me smiles...as I float down my road..
newton2013 @ 58:
HAARP...
Perhaps...
But that is just going to make mother that much more pisssed.
This has been the wettest spring and summer that I have witnessed for many years, and the Mississippi is still high from two months ago (delta region) with farmland too wet to plant still. Here's another catastrophic flood and Bushie-Boy is in France, spending taxpayer money doing what he does best: Insulting the intelligence of humans the world over.
"kablooie & # 65"
Bushie-Boy and the Bush family do not give a hoot about Iowa or NOLA.
If you can point us to something that says diffferent please let everybody know.
" Bushie-Boy is in France. " .
Who' s idea was it to send George to France?
How embarassing for America.
Thanks to all there who are able to report what you can. Good to hear that, at least, people don't seem to be drowning and/or missing, and that at least some supplies are available. Plus, having friends, family, and, probably, strangers, taking in those in need remind us that we do have each other. Having a functional government helps, but barring that, individuals WILL step up and help our fellow men.
God bless and stay safe to all affected.
SCHRODINGER'S CAT @ 66:
Better question is, "Whose idea was it to bring him back?" After all, The Hague is only a 4.5 hr drive from Paris...
I lived in Cedars Rapids along time ago. I tell people I ONLY work in Alabama I AM from Iowa. I emailed friends still there to see how they were doing. What a mess. Living in Alabama I can tell you with certainty that Iowa is not in the bible belt (except for years it was illegal for a woman to cut a mans hair - I don't think thats still valid hehe). Iowans are a strong bunch, they will recover from this in no time. But, be prepared for food prices to rise steeply, everything has corn syrup in it now-a-days. I have to order my Jollytime popcorn over the net, I hope things are OK in Vinton.
Thoughts are with ya Hawkeyes...................
Gus
Iowa City is under curfew tonight. I was unaware that the Iowa River split right through the campus of the Univ of Iowa.
Man, this is a major catatrophe for alot of people who dont live in flood plains and therefore have no insurance for flooding.
I am in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
At the moment, my house is on the outskirts of the new mid city lake. I haven't been able to get close to my house since Thursday when all hell broke loose. But it would seem the water level there was between 5-15 feet. I wont really know for sure until I can get close.
As far as Fema goes.. i have to give this to them. They have set up several local "offices" for assistance and every radio/tv station is carrying the info on how to apply for Fema assistance. I wasn't "in a flood plain" so i have no flood insurance. Its gonna be interesting to say the least/
The aerial images and videos do not do this tragedy justice. Or i might still be in shock.. who knows.
Best of luck to my fellow Cedar Rapidians.
E....
Chris @ 55:
Thankfully the Govenor dispatched the National Guard early, and Cedar Rapids / Linn county have good police/sheriff's depts. There has been lawlessness and some looting were told; but mostly it has been calm. Also no large electronics / Big Box stores are in the flood plane which would seem to carry coveted loot able materials..
ELR @ 71:
Good luck to you, I hope that you are safe and are able to rebuild and return your life to normal as much as can be.
rend @ 35:
You know that the various grades of gas they sell to US consumers is poor quality compared to European gas stations,
premium here in the US is comparable to cheap in Europe.
87 is something that hasnt been seen in Europe for prob 40 years.
And guess what MPG and cleaner burning is related to the octane rating, higher the octane rating the better the burn and more MPG.
Governments always screw with nature and build levees and do flood prevention works,
this allows builders to build on the once off limits flood plains, then when the 50 year storm comes along, whoosh disaster time.
One stupid thing they do everywhere in Europe and in the US is canalizing rivers, stopping the river from using its historic flood plain, one city or area that does it downstream for themselves, condemns their neighbors upstream to major flooding.
God -- _or_ Hillary the witch! Hey, just saying FOX will be saying, so you got to hear it here first. Remember, Iowa was the proto Obama state.
Not so amusing though. Being not that far from Iowa we're getting a lot of the footage that the YouTube above doesn't begin to do justice to. Stuff like downtown Cedar Rapids (pop. 124,000) being _several_ feet underwater along with much of the city. Add in the Des Moines breach, several small towns that are submerged and the economic loss to farmers whose fields are underwater and calling it Iowa's Katrina isn't being a drama queen. How well the people will be assisted, we'll yet see.
REMEMBER - DO NOT MENTION GLOBAL WARMING AND THE INCREASED INCIDENCE OF FLOODS, TORNADOES, AND SEVERE WEATHER IN THE SAME ARTICLE.
JaimeFuffufnik @ 72:
THOSE STORIES WERE MADE UP - REMEMBER -
"There were two babies who had their throats slit. The seven-year-old girl who was raped and murdered in the Superdome. And the corpses laid out amid the excrement in the convention centre.
In a week filled with dreadful scenes of desperation and anger from New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina some stories stood out.
But as time goes on many remain unsubstantiated and may yet prove to be apocryphal.
New Orleans police have been unable to confirm the tale of the raped child, or indeed any of the reports of rapes, in the Superdome and convention centre.
New Orleans police chief Eddie Compass said last night: "We don't have any substantiated rapes. We will investigate if the individuals come forward."
And while many claim they happened, no witnesses, survivors or survivors' relatives have come forward."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2005/sep/06/hurricanekatrina.usa3
Chris @ 55:
THOSE STORIES WERE MADE UP BY THE RIGHT-WING MEDIA MACHINE, REMEMBER? (Just like the stories of the baby killing in Kuwait before the first Gulf war.) PS - who do you work for?
"There were two babies who had their throats slit. The seven-year-old girl who was raped and murdered in the Superdome. And the corpses laid out amid the excrement in the convention centre.
In a week filled with dreadful scenes of desperation and anger from New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina some stories stood out.
But as time goes on many remain unsubstantiated and may yet prove to be apocryphal.
New Orleans police have been unable to confirm the tale of the raped child, or indeed any of the reports of rapes, in the Superdome and convention centre.
New Orleans police chief Eddie Compass said last night: "We don't have any substantiated rapes. We will investigate if the individuals come forward."
And while many claim they happened, no witnesses, survivors or survivors' relatives have come forward."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2005/sep/06/hurricanekatrina.usa3
Comments are closed on this entry