Iowa Flooding Breaches Levee

Conditions in weather-beaten Iowa took a turn for the worse Thursday as state crews prepared to shut down almost 30 miles of Interstate 80 through flooded Johnson and Cedar counties.

Officials had parked gravel-loaded railroad cars on the bridge in an attempt to weight it down to prevent flood waters from lifting it off its supports and sweeping it downstream. But the bridge and 20 rail cars are in the water now and officials worry that the debris might dam the river, causing more problems.

The rising Cedar River burst through an earthen levee Thursday just outside Cedar Rapids, and at least 10,000 people there have been ordered to evacuate, officials told NBC News.

Power is out for most of downtown, complicating rescue efforts, city spokesman Dave Koch said.

Officials estimated that 100 blocks in Cedar Rapids were under water.

"We're seeing very substantial flooding," said Craig Hanson, the city's public works maintenance manager.

Cedar Rapids' problems came a day after frantic sandbagging enabled the upstream cities of Cedar Falls and Waterloo to narrowly avoid widespread flooding.

Despite several days spent preparing for the approaching high water, Cedar Rapids couldn't avoid widespread evacuations. Rescuers had to use boats to reach many of the residents stranded in nearly 4,000 homes.

"It's going door to door to make sure people don't need to be rescued, 'cause right now they can't get out on their own," said Dave Koch, a spokesman for the Cedar Rapids Fire Department. "It's just too deep."

In downtown, flood waters neared the top of stop signs and cars were nearly covered in water. People could be seen dragging suitcases up closed highway exit ramps to escape the water.

As Cedar Rapids dealt with rising flood waters, other Iowa cities warily watched rivers further swollen by storms overnight into Thursday that brought up to 5 inches of rain across west central Iowa.

In Des Moines, officials said they were urging residents to evacuate more than 200 homes north of downtown because of concerns that the Des Moines River would top a nearby levee.

Public Works Director Bill Stowe said officials were also watching the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers through downtown Des Moines.

"We're certainly concerned and last night's rain elevated those concerns," Stowe said. "We'll be carefully watching the situation over the next couple of days."

Despite rising water, the city's water treatment plant was operating normally. The plant was knocked out of service in the 1993 floods, cutting off water to Des Moines for 12 days.

Meteorologist Rod Donavon of the National Weather Service said there was a strip of 3 to 5 inches of rain across west central Iowa and another strip of 2 to 3 inches in central Iowa.