Historic floods hit America’s Midwest by Steph Ball
Thunderstorms and record flooding drenched America’s Midwest again on Friday, with severe storms prompting warnings that stretched all the way from Oklahoma to Wisconsin.
Over the last month the Midwest has suffered under a constant barrage of storms as hot and humid air across eastern states has collided with cooler air coming in from the west. Over this time, Iowa has totted up over 450mm (18 inches) of rain and is now buckling under the strain with thousands having to leave their homes.
Iowa has been worst hit by the current floods with the Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management describing them as a “one in five hundred year” event. On Friday the Cedar River saw levels far surpass those ever recorded before, with 83 of Iowa’s 99 counties being declared disaster areas. The last major floods to hit the Midwest were during the Great Flood of 1993. These floods were among the most costly and devastating to ever occur in the United States.
Normally the rivers and land might have coped with the recent heavy downpours. However, heavy winter snow followed by above average rain early in spring has left the ground saturated. With more storms expected over the weekend, the situation looks likely to worsen before it improves.