Dam fails in Delhi, IA... an hour away from me

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/07/24/iowa.dam.breach/index.html?hpt=T1


(CNN) -- A dam on an eastern Iowa lake failed Saturday, sending a massive amount of water into nearby communities and forcing residents to flee.
The Lake Delhi dam, about 45 miles north of Cedar Rapids, failed as a result of "massive rain -- a very unusually high amount this season," according to Jim Flansburg, communications director for Gov. Chet Culver.
The roads on either side of the dam -- which were part of the dam's containment measures -- apparently gave out as a result of the rainfall, Flansburg told CNN.
The National Weather Service reported a 30-foot-wide gap in the berm alongside the dam.
Video showed water violently gushing from the pool behind the dam into the river below. Nearby homes and buildings were in water up to their eaves.
Evacuation sirens sounded about 1 p.m. (2 p.m. ET) for the approximately 700 residents of Hopkinton, who had about five minutes to flee, Flansburg said.
No injuries were reported.
The town of Monticello, where Culver was meeting with emergency personnel, was also under a flood warning.
Culver also activated the National Guard in the area to help with recovery efforts, his office said.

Oh shit, I grew up in western Illinois and that still isn't very far from Peoria Illinois.

Wolfgangsta wrote:

Oh shit, I grew up in western Illinois and that still isn't very far from Peoria Illinois.

The fucked up thing is that they're saying this is worst then the floods of '08, which were redicilous