"I think it floods in Des Moines"

One of the first things I remember my dad saying to me when I told him we were considering Des Moines for school was "I think it floods in Des Moines". Since we've been living here, we have heard the stories of the "Floods of 93" and seen markers of water levels from that massive flood. I keep hearing that the the storms and flooding of 93 was a "hundred year storm". Apparently, the "Floods of 08" are from a 500 year storm. Luckily, they are better prepared this time around, and they are assuring us our clean water supply is safe. It is still incredible to see the amount of water flowing through downtown, and basically anywhere near a river or stream. I have always lived places that were perpetually in a drought and have never experienced something like this. They are predicting that later today water levels will reach or exceed the levees. Our apartment building seems to be on high enough ground, so aside from some minor inconveniences, we haven't been seriously affected. They have started evacuating people in high risk areas though. We hope those who are more directly involved will be able to stay safe! If you are interested in seeing what our city looks like, you can see a live stream and other videos here. Also, right now our local news website has a video of Principal Park that I thought was incredible. I drove right past this baseball stadium last night around 8:00 pm and didn't notice water in the parking lot. On my way home at 11pm, water was starting to creep in. The video from this morning shows it completely under water. It is scary how fast water levels can rise.






Here is a before and after shot of an amphitheater downtown. I just saw this on the news and the water levels are even higher now than in this picture. You can't see the grass or the arches on the bridge anymore.