Quad Cities region records record floods: NPR

The Mississippi River has been at the stage of major flooding for 41 days, and this week a temporary wall broke down and sent water rushing through several blocks of downtown Davenport, Iowa.

In this same region – the Quad Cities area of ​​Iowa and Illinois – the river has reached its highest point. The national meteorological service says a new record seems to have been fixed at Rock Island, Ill.

The previous area record had been set during the great flood of 1993 – and as reported by Rebecca Hersher of NPR, this flood caused damage of about $ 15 billion.

Davenport Mayor Frank Klipsch said the city has put in place temporary barriers to protect against rising water levels. A small part of these barriers was finally reached on Tuesday after several weeks.

"We evacuated about 30 to 40 residents of this area who lived in condominium areas," he told NPR, Here & Now. "We deal with [flooding] every year, but it was an unexpected breach and a lot of water was entering this area. "

Upper Mississippi was flooded with huge amounts of rain earlier this week, exacerbating the river's already high level. "The state of Iowa has received more rainfall in the last 12 months than any other period recorded in 124 years of data," Bob Gallagher, mayor of the city of Bettendorf, told reporters. the heights of the river. "When it rains as much as we have this year, there is no way to avoid this situation."

Some Davenport companies are going through a difficult period, even if they are not flooded, reports Benjamin Payne of the WVIK member station.

"Things have slowed down and the detours have made access to downtown more difficult," says Tiffany Cannon, who kept her bakery open, at Payne. "Customers have called me to say," We have trucks, we have sandbags. Tell me what you need. ""

According to WVIK, residents and businesses in the flooded area had been warned of the possibility of a temporary wall failure, "but they still have little time, about an hour or so, to protect their buildings and evacuate. "

The stadium of the local Major League team is surrounded by water, adds Payne, and the team is now referring to this place as "a baseball island".

Meanwhile, downstream communities are preparing for the arrival of high water and the farming communities of Mississippi are in danger.

John Roach, administrator of the town of La Grange, Missouri, told reporters that the city was already experiencing its third historic flood level.

"The post office has moved, the Head Start daycare has moved out, the garage of our mechanic – they have moved," Roach said. "We have water in the main street, all over the city, which affects almost every aspect you can imagine … We are in very bad shape."

In March, the National Weather Service had predicted that this spring's flood potential was "well above normal", due to a significant snowpack in the Mississippi Basin and its saturated soil.

"The melting of snow alone causes the flooding of rivers near or above the flood level," NWS said. Lower temperatures than usual in January and February, as well as more snowfall, contributed to the heavy snow accumulation.

And as reported by NPR's Hersher, heavy rains that have exacerbated these floods have a link to climate change. "Such rains have become more frequent with climate change, in part because the warmer air can retain more moisture," she said. "That means Midwestern communities can expect more years like this."