Ames and Des Moines Iowa Hit Hard by Flooding

Ames, Iowa is located just thirty minutes north of Des Moines and this city of roughly 55,000 residents are currently living through hell as they are grappling with the after effects of heavy rains that flooded their town. Their neighbors to the south in Des Moines can definitely relate as that city too has suffered a substantial amount of damage.

On Thursday August 12th, the residents of Ames lined up to receive bottled water from various sites in the city one day after history-making flooding caused pipe breaks that left this college town without drinking water. Residents are being urged to use as little water as possible until the eight broken water mains can be repaired and the water restored. The tap water can be be made suitable for drinking if it is boiled but residents are still being asked to use as little as possible because it will take the city longer to turn the water back on if taps are running.

The flooding in Ames was the result of three consecutive nights of pounding, heavy rain that caused creeks and rivers in the central portion of Iowa to swell and overflow their banks. In Des Moines, Ames and Colfax, hundreds of people were forced to evacuate. One sixteen year old girl lost her life when a car she was in was swept away by a flooded creek outside Des Moines.

Ames is home to Iowa State University and the campus was shut down today with faculty and students being told to remain at home where it is safe. There were at least eight buildings on campus that were affected by flood water as nearby Squaw Creek overflowed its banks. There is a total of four feet of standing flood water on the basketball floor inside Hilton Coliseum. College officials do not know just yet how soon the building will re-open as the damage must be assessed.

Hundreds of Des Moines residents were told to evacuate their homes in the Four Mile Creek area on Wednesday when the creek spilled out of its banks after the heavy rains. Many of the residents will not be able to return to their homes for several days until the city and midAmerican Energy officials determine it is safe. Many of the displaced residents checked into emergency shelters that were set up in the area such as the one at the Hiatt Middle School on 15th Street.