Only a mere puddle in comparison

Earlier today, in the middle of a thunderstorm, we discovered our roof was leaking in the living room along the wall lining the fireplace. Of course, we groused about it, but as the sheer scope and devastation of the flood becomes clear, our leaky roof is a blessing in comparison to the thousands of folks whose homes are completely inundated by the floodwaters right now.

We finally went to gawk a few minutes ago. In fact, we'd only have to go a few blocks south to see the roads covered in water. A few snapshots of what we saw as we drove along I-380, which winds along the river, and hence the flooding:
-The bridges the cross the river downtown are COVERED. You can barely see the tops of the railings.
-The water in the flooded areas flood some houses to their first floor ceilings. Some will be surely swept away by the waters. Note: the water was not this high yesterday.
-The Cedar River is curvy, and the outlying areas look like swamps.
-This is what they mean by major flooding.

Iowa City's getting hit just as hard, and will affect us directly. My office building is being evacuated by Saturday, so I have to try and go down tomorrow and clear out anything from my office because it may be weeks before we can get back in. Adler, my building, was actually in the second round of closings, which is surprising because it's not even 100 feet from the river. Katie's day care will also be closed, mostly because so many of the teachers will be affected adversely, they can't make it in to work.

We're in the middle of something major here. Time and again they refer to this flooding as "historic." I believe it, too. Everything's compared to the 1993 floods; for instance, they'll say so many cubic feet of water are passing by per second(up to 40,000 in Iowa City, 70,000 in Cedar Rapids), and then tell how many passed in the '93 floods. And yes, this flood, by all accounts, will be worse than the '93 disaster.

But we're fine. We may be unable to get to IC for a few days, but we'll be able to make it to the store. If it gets dicey, though, we'll make it to higher ground- wherever that may be.