1. Hannah James Economics College of Arts and Sciences

2.  Cause of the floods  Economic and cultural losses  Flood plains – methods for predicting future floods

6.  Winter of 2007-2008 saw large amounts of snow  The following spring was very wet ◦ 5.88 inches of rain in April ◦ 5-15 inches of rain in May  Result: Ground is saturated ◦ Following June rains have no where to go

9.  June 9 th : Predicted crest is 20 ft.  June 10 th : NW/SW Cedar Rapids evacuated  June 12 th: Heavy rains -> flash flooding; 8,000 evacuated downtown  June 13 th : River crests at 31.1 ft ◦ 10,000 evacuated, including hospital ◦ Water use limited  June 15 th: Residents caught sneaking into homes  June 21 st : River drops below 12 ft

10.  Highest point: 31.12 feet ◦ One month after crest: 8.66 feet, Two months after crest: 4.43 feet  Flood waters covered nearly 14% of the city  10,000 people displaced permanently  1,300 properties damaged beyond repair  $876 million loss to city buildings and homes ◦ Not including privately owned businesses  Estimated loss of $8 billion across all of Eastern Iowa

11.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v4DxnTs ucM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v4DxnTs ucM

12. June 13 th, 20082013

13.  Hundreds of downtown small businesses damaged  Several forced to relocate or go out of business  Smulekoffs- locally well known, left downtown location this year

14.  Multiple city landmarks damaged ◦ Paramount Theatre ◦ Czech Museum  Also loss to economy

17.  The 2008 floods were the result of a very wet winter and spring, followed by sudden heavy rains in June  Impact on eastern Iowan towns, in particular Cedar Rapids, is being felt even 6 years later  Better methods of flood prediction and city planning need to be developed

19.  http://czechfolks.com/2008/09/21/czech-republic-helps-us- czech-and-slovak-museum-ceska-republika-pomaha-cesko- slovenskemu-muzeu-v-usa/ http://czechfolks.com/2008/09/21/czech-republic-helps-us- czech-and-slovak-museum-ceska-republika-pomaha-cesko- slovenskemu-muzeu-v-usa/  http://thegazette.com/subject/news/business/retail/smulekoffs -to-leave-downtown-cedar-rapids-20140818 http://thegazette.com/subject/news/business/retail/smulekoffs -to-leave-downtown-cedar-rapids-20140818  http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/extremeevents/specialreports/2008- Midwestern-US-Floods.pdf http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/extremeevents/specialreports/2008- Midwestern-US-Floods.pdf  http://www.buildings.com/article- details/articleid/6691/title/lessons-from-the-flood-of- 2008.aspx http://www.buildings.com/article- details/articleid/6691/title/lessons-from-the-flood-of- 2008.aspx  http://www.cedar-rapids.org/government/departments/public- works/engineering/Flood%20Protection%20Information/Pages/2 008FloodFacts.aspx http://www.cedar-rapids.org/government/departments/public- works/engineering/Flood%20Protection%20Information/Pages/2 008FloodFacts.aspx  http://www.cedar-rapids.org/city- news/crprogress/Pages/default.aspx http://www.cedar-rapids.org/city- news/crprogress/Pages/default.aspx  http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2010/1096/pdf/OFR2010-1096.pdf http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2010/1096/pdf/OFR2010-1096.pdf