April 27, 2001 — The governor of Iowa has requested that the president sign a major disaster declaration for severe weather, thunderstorms, tornadoes and associated flooding that impacted his state beginning on April 8, 2001.
Specifically, the governor requested that the following 13 counties be declared eligible to receive both Individual (IA) and Public Assistance (PA): Allamakee, Buchanan, Clayton, Clinton, Des Moines, Dubuque, Jackson, Lee, Louisa, Muscatine, Ringgold, Scott and Wapello.
River elevations are expected to remain above flood stage for several weeks, contributing to saturation of already stressed levee systems. Primary concerns are the stability of the levees and the fortifications put in place by local and state emergency managers (temporary levees, sandbagging, elevated access routes and elevated utility stations).
The American Red Cross (ARC) has established mobile feeding sites for emergency workers and families in the Clinton, McGregor and Marquette communities. A State Response Team is on alert and ready to deploy.
The governor declared a State of Emergency for 10 counties. The Iowa Emergency Management Division's Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is activated.
A FEMA State Liaison is deployed to the State EOC. FEMA officials participate in a daily, 10:00 am CDT, operational briefing with state and county coordinators. Joint FEMA/State Preliminary Damage Assessments (PDA) for the affected counties for IA and PA are ongoing.
Yesterday, FEMA Director Joe Allbaugh traveled with city and state officials through several flooded areas of Davenport, where the Mississippi River has crested at its third-highest level ever. Director Allbaugh also stopped in Niota, Illinois, during a helicopter tour of the flooded region, meeting briefly with city officials to hear about their flood prevention measures.
A river flood warning continues for the Mississippi River from Dubuque, IA to Gregory Landing, MO and on the Rock River in Moline, IL. Heavy rains across the headwaters of the Mississippi River Basin in Minnesota and Wisconsin earlier this week have caused a secondary crest. Water from this secondary crest will approach Dubuque this Sunday causing river levels to stop falling for at least two to four days before beginning to fall again. Downstream in the Quad Cities area (Davenport, IA.) the river's fall will slow down next Tuesday as this additional flow makes its way down the Mississippi.
Regions V and VII Regional Operations Centers are activated to a Level III.
In North Dakota, the Red River has crested at all points south of Drayton, ND. No critical situations are expected in the state. Plans are being developed to initiate PDAs beginning the week of May 7.
In South Dakota, ten counties have been issued disaster declarations by the governor. PDAs began April 23 and are ongoing.
In Illinois, flooding is expected to continue along the Mississippi River for several weeks until the river crests pass and river levels return below flood stage. The State EOC is fully activated and a Forward Command Post is operating in Rock Island and Hancock counties. The governor has declared a State of Emergency for 10 counties. A PDA request is expected once floodwaters have receded and the state has completed their flood damage assessments.
In Wisconsin, the Mississippi River is being monitored very closely due to the projected increase in water from tributaries that empty into the Mississippi. Projections call for up to a foot of water above last week's high. Two ARC shelters are open in the state with no population reported. The governor has issued a State of Emergency for 11 counties. The State EOC continues to operate and a Forward Command Post is deployed to Rock Island. Joint FEMA/State PDAs are expected to begin around May 7, though there has been no formal request from the state at this time.
In Missouri, the Mississippi River is above flood stage at most points along the Missouri/Illinois border. The river crest is expected to move through the state into early next week. Moderate flooding is anticipated at most points and flood control projects are expected to contain the floodwaters. Major flooding is occurring in Hannibal. The flood stage is 16 feet. The latest observed river stage was 23.1 feet and is expected to crest at 23.5 feet tomorrow. No critical situations are reported at this time. No state response activities are reported at this time.
(FEMA HQ, Regions V, VII, VIII, National Weather Service)
