Levees are breaking in Des Moines

[link to www.kcci.com]

Levee Fails Overnight In Birdland Area

POSTED: 4:31 am CDT June 14, 2008
UPDATED: 8:17 am CDT June 14, 2008

DES MOINES, Iowa -- A levee failure on the Des Moines River early Saturday morning has caused a mandatory evacuation of the Birdland Park area on Des Moines' north side.

The failure happened around 3:45 a.m. in the area of 7th and New York Avenue, which would be just west of North High School, in the area of the old Riverview Amusement Park.


A mandatory evacuation is taking place between Saylor Road on the east, the river on the west and south, and Beckwith on the north. Evacuees should go to Harding Middle School at 203 East Euclid. If you don't have transportation, head to Union Park.

A Des Moines Public Works Director Bill Stowe told KCCI that city crews are building a berm on the west side of 2nd Avenue to try to prevent the water from spreading to the east.

At 8 o'clock this morning, an emergency order was issued to evacuate all crews working on the new berm on 2nd Avenue. National Guard crews could be seen running from the scene. Officials said they feared that one of the levees in the area was about to break and that lives of those building the new levee were at risk. The area near 2nd and Holcomb is now clear of all personnel.

Polk County Sheriff's chief Neil Shultz told KCCI that the residential area had been under a voluntary evacuation from earlier in the week, so most residents had already left. Law officers are going through the neighborhood to make sure everyone is out. About 200 homes had been included in the initial voluntary evacuation earlier in the week.

Water is rising in the area around Birdland swimming pool and the tennis courts. Stowe said at 6 a.m. that he had been on the steps of North High School earlier this morning and it was dry but by 6 a.m., North High likely had about four feet of water surrounding it. He wasn't sure if water was in the building.

KCCI photographer Spencer Vaughn says the Birdland swimming pool and the North High ball fields are completely under water. National Guard and city crews are working feverishly to build a new temporary levee on the west side of 2nd Avenue. Water is already lapping up against the levee, which appears to be about 8 feet high. Dump trucks first put down a mound of sand. Crews are now covering that mound with plastic and putting down sandbags as quickly as possible.

Stowe said the part of the levee that broke had been the target of many resources this week as the Iowa National Guard tried to shore up the levee and build some temporary reinforcements. "It's an area of great concern," Stowe said. "That's why we put resources into it, but it was temporary and unfortunately the levee broke."

Both 2nd Avenue and 6th Avenue are closed this morning because of the levee break.

The city had breathed a sign of relief on Friday evening as the crest moved through on the Des Moines River and the levels started to drop. But the constant pressure of near-record levels on the river finally found a weak spot on the levee system.

The latest river gauge data on the Des Moines River shows the river crested Friday at noon around 31.5 feet. As of 6 a.m. Saturday, the river had already fallen a foot to 30.5 feet.