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Midwest Flooding

2008-06-13 22:33:10.838646+00 by Dan Lyke 4 comments

Hey, in case your media exposure is, like mine, minimal, spend a bit of time looking at news reports about the current flooding in the midwest. It's pretty huge, 500 year flood levels. I don't want to play prognosticator with minimal information, but it looks Katrina huge, and this is all going to flow downstream.

Seems like at the least the American Red Cross could use a few extra bucks.

[ related topics: Current Events ]

comments in ascending chronological order (reverse):

#Comment Re: made: 2008-06-14 01:29:31.606038+00 by: meuon

Don't forget to save a few.. on top of the increase in fuel reasons, add this and food costs will REALLY be going up.

#Comment Re: made: 2008-06-14 12:28:05.932996+00 by: DaveP

Yeah, I didn't see much flying into MSP last night, but the local news is talking about both corn and soybean supplies being tight this year, plus the US has depleted its strategic grain reserve.

#Comment Re: made: 2008-06-16 12:48:37.782481+00 by: petronius [edit history]

Yet for a Katrina level disaster, we have people calmly evacuating and then returning after the water goes down a bit. Basically, the Iowans will help themselves out rather than seeing the disaster a a great opportunity for looting and getting more federal support. And a year from now they won't be still living in FEMA trailers. They also won't be getting scads of private charity.

Yet too much water is not always the problem. The Wisconsin Dells is the upper midwest's favorite slightly tacky vacation spot, filled with fudge shops and fake Indian souveniers. Yet one major attraction, the Tommy Bartlett Water show, is out of comission because in the midst of a flood the the lake emptied!

#Comment Re: made: 2008-06-18 23:21:23.949555+00 by: concept14

One difference is purely geographic. Cedar Rapids and Iowa City aren't surrounded by ocean and swamps, so evacuees can depart in all directions, with fewer transportation chokepints than in New Orleans.