In Iowa City, water spilled over the dam five miles north of town on Wednesday and will rise to 11 feet over flood stage by next week. As of yesterday, 19 buildings on campus, which stretches across both banks of the mighty Iowa River, were in "imminent threat of flooding".
I was in Iowa City on Tuesday to finish a few errands. Volunteers have built an eight foot high wall of sandbags and concrete barriers on both sides of the river to protect low-lying campus buildings. As far as the I know, floodwaters have not yet breached the wall, but the river is not expected to crest until June 20th, assuming no more rain.
They're calling this a "500 year flood", as they did the 1993 floods that contaminated Des Moines water facilities and ruined my Little League season. After living through two "500 year floods", I feel old.
Near the small town of Blencoe, a tornado hit Little Sioux Scout Ranch, where over 100 Boy Scouts from western Iowa and eastern Nebraska were gathered for a week of outdoor leadership training. Falling trees and a collapsed shelter killed four and injured forty eight. Early this morning, my dad emailed me a picture with the caption "Little Sioux Tornado":
My last trip to Little Sioux was in high school, in the spring. I was there for a weekend of service projects and wilderness camping for my induction into Order of the Arrow, Scouting's honor society. The camp is 1800 acres of trees and hills and valleys. There are few paved roads or buildings with electricity. Our last night there, a terrible thunderstorm hit. We took shelter as best we could, in a building that probably no longer exists.
And here I sit in Manila, at the guarded housing compound, surrounded by palm trees and small birds sitting dangerous close to my can of Coke. There is sun and a slight breeze. A swimming pool with clear water sits in front of me, my furnished apartment in the building next door.
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