The Lake Delhi dam in eastern Iowa has burst today causing massive flooding in local communities and forcing residents to evacuate.
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Gov. Chet Culver told CNN that almost 10 inches of rain fell over a 12-hour period and the dam couldn’t hold. Jim Flansberg, Gov. Culver’s communications director told CNN that the roads on either side of the dam had given way, according to cnn.com. A 30 foot wide gap in the berm alongside the dam was reported by the National Weather Service.
Iowa Gov. Chet Culver issued a Disaster Declaration for the counties of Delaware and Jones as flood waters raged through small cities along the Maquoketa River.
The Lake Delhi dam, about 45 miles north of Cedar Rapids, failed as a result of record flooding – “a very unusually high amount this season,” according to Jim Flansburg, communications director for Culver.
Power companies, including crews from ITC, Alliant and CIPCO were out in force Saturday trying to protect low-lying areas from outages, according to the Gazette Online.
Delaware County Sheriff John LeClere said flood waters heading toward Hopkinton had largely dispersed in farm fields on the city’s outskirts, according to CNN affiliate KCRG in Iowa.
Water is gushing from behind the dam to the Maquoketa River beneath and homes are engulfed by the flood waters. In Hopkinton, 700 people had only 5 minutes to flee their homes after evacuation sirens sounded at 1 pm.
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