Watch a levee burst flood an Iowa town in under 5 minutes
Newly-released CCTV footage shows a levee breach in Davenport, Iowa, flooding the downtown area in minutes
Higher than normal river levels in Davenport, Iowa broke a levee on Tuesday, April 30 and flooded a downtown business in under five minutes.
Released CCTV footage shows the moment a temporary flood barrier bursts, unleashing a wall of water into the parking lot of the Roam restaurant. It only took minutes before the property became submerged with water.
According to local reports, on Thursday, May 2, a river gauge at Rock Island, south of Davenport, reached 22.7 feet. Once confirmed, this will be a record for that location, which has tracked data for 50 years.
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"They're saying this flooding is worse than the devastating flood in 1993. The waters rose [more than] seven metres. When the levees broke downtown, which hold back the Mississippi River, you can see how quickly the water moves into this parking lot," said Weather Network meteorologist Chris St. Clair.
A levee burst and quickly flooded the Davenport, Iowa restaurant Roam on Tuesday, April 30. Photo credit: Roam
To put it into perspective, he noted the weight of one litre of water that flooded the Roam parking lot weighed a kilogram.
The released CCTV footage is "quite impressive."
"There is an enormous volume of water that rushes into this downtown in Davenport," St. Clair said.
NO PERMANENT FLOOD CONTROL
Despite being the largest city on the Mississippi River, which floods every year, the city doesn't have any permanent flood controls.
While still unofficial, the record water level tops a 22.63-ft. reading during the 1993 floods, with the number set on July 9 that year. The figure is almost eight feet above flood stage.
Numerous people had to be rescued from several locations because of how quickly the water rose.
The short- and long-term outlook for the state is indicating more rain is on the way, since May is the wettest month for many areas of the Mississippi River basin.
With the likelihood of above-normal precipitation in the near future, those living in near rivers will remain on notice.
A GoFundMe page was set up to help the employees of Roam.