Results tagged “disasters” from DesMoinesIst
An interesting article appearing in the latest edition of Architectural Record documents the damage done to several buildings in eastern Iowa that were designed by prominent architects. They include a Cedar Rapids bank designed by Louis Sullivan and a house by Frank Lloyd Wright that sits in Charles City. A campaign to salvage the Wright-designed home is already underway.
For an up-close view of the floodwaters as they hit Des Moines a week ago, check out these excellent amateur shots of the city, right in the thick of it.
Obviously, the flooding and evacuations in Des Moines have been bad news, but judging from the photos, Cedar Rapids and Iowa City appear to have gotten it much worse. Iowa City is in far worse shape than in 1993, which at the time was thought to be the worst of all possible scenarios. Eastern Iowa has been losing power plants (in Iowa City and in Vinton), and even though the floodwaters are falling around Iowa's second city, drinking-water supplies are at risk. Des Moines, by comparison, has had some levee breaches and localized flooding, but the overall effects seem to be more limited than in I-380 corridor.
Those wishing to help from out of town ought to consult the Des Moines-area Red Cross and United Way.
Those wishing to help from out of town ought to consult the Des Moines-area Red Cross and United Way.
It's Severe Weather Awareness Week in Iowa, with a special topic for each day: Flooding on Monday, severe thunderstorms today, tornadoes (with the statewide tornado drill) tomorrow, NOAA Weather Radio on Thursday, and preparedness on Friday.
There's a reason this event happens in early April: It's just slightly into tornado season in Iowa. It probably would be smarter to schedule the "awareness week" for just a little earlier in the year, like the end of March, because several of the state's worst tornado outbreaks have actually occurred in early April. But by pushing it earlier in the year, it might be overwhelmed by people's natural inclination to still be preoccupied with the end of winter weather...which, given last week's freak snowstorm, might be a challenge to overcome. But if we're going to practice a tornado drill, then it might be best to have that practice prior to any time we'd normally expect to get a twister.
There's a reason this event happens in early April: It's just slightly into tornado season in Iowa. It probably would be smarter to schedule the "awareness week" for just a little earlier in the year, like the end of March, because several of the state's worst tornado outbreaks have actually occurred in early April. But by pushing it earlier in the year, it might be overwhelmed by people's natural inclination to still be preoccupied with the end of winter weather...which, given last week's freak snowstorm, might be a challenge to overcome. But if we're going to practice a tornado drill, then it might be best to have that practice prior to any time we'd normally expect to get a twister.
