Flood Evacuation

We live right by the Des Moines River. With temperatures finally above freezing and an inordinate amount of snow this winter that is now melting, we knew the water level would rise. Our little family has never had a problem with flooding because the opposite bank is lower than ours, but Friday night I got a call from the County Emergency Services recommending that we evacuate. I was pretty scared, mainly because Mike was gone. It was a very scary feeling to be in charge of Aidan alone during an emergency! Luckily, we were fine. I packed our stuff and took Aidan to a friend's house. Then I met Mike as his flight came in from the airport, and we went to spend the night at that same friend's house.

We went back to our house the next day to see if the water had spilled on our side. It hadn't, but we got some pretty amazing pictures to show how close it came. This is the river with all the ice that broke up and jammed in our little bend of the river. As you can see, it destroyed many of the trees that line the bank.

The ice (and probably water) got all the way up to the houses on the other side of the bank. I sure hope they all listened to the warning and got out!
This shows how close the ice got to our road. This street is the only way to exit from our house, so if it flooded we would be trapped in our house until the water receded.

The ice spilled over in a few places, but the water didn't make it up.

The comparison show shows you how high up the river is - normally it's about 8 feet below the edge of the road, but now the ice was over Aidan's head!

This morning, the water suddenly seemed to be much lower, and all the ice was gone. We found out later that one of the flood gates at the dam downriver broke open, so all the blockage has moved farther south than our neck of the woods. We think this means we should be safe, even if the river does rise another 5 feet as predicted.

Thanks again to all who opened their home and prayed for our safety. I surely felt the power of your prayers! I'm so grateful that my little family is all together and safe!