Cedar Rapids Flood Evacuations

Rising floodwaters created by torrential, tornado-spawning thunderstorms caused Iowa's Cedar River to crest at over 30 feet on June 13, 2008, flooding downtown Cedar Rapids and forcing the evacuation of Mercy Medical Center's 176 patients.

Fast Facts

1. Population of Cedar Rapids: 124,000¹
2. Floodwaters threatened to cut power to hospital
3. Expected river crest: 38 feet²
4. Crest at height of last major flood event in 1993: 19.2 feet²
5. Record Cedar River crest: 20 feet
6. Year previous record set: 1851
7. No. of city blocks under water: 438
8. Steam and electricity services cut to downtown indefinitely
9. Downtown under evacuation orders
10. No. of homes evacuated: 4,000¹
11. Height of water downtown: Five to six feet
12. One levee already broken; others may fail
13. Most homes and businesses lack flood insurance

500-Year Flood Event in Iowa

To put the current flooding disaster in perspective, the last major flood event in Iowa caused the Cedar River to crest at 19.27 feet. In the 2008 event, the river is expected to crest at 38 feet. The previous record crest of the Cedar River was 20 feet, set in 1851.² The entire downtown of Cedar Rapids is under mandatory evacuation orders and municipal services such as steam and electricity have been cut.

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