Stalking Venus

Major flooding has occurred after recent thunderstorms on Thursday and Friday caused rivers in Iowa to break their banks.

From CNN:

Officials recommended that downtown residents and businesses evacuate parts of downtown on both sides of the river by 6 p.m. Friday. Included are all areas in Des Moines’ 500-year floodplain.

The alert was prompted by rising river levels expected to peak at 8 p.m. Friday. Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie said officials chose “to err on the side of citizens and residents.”

The evacuation should begin immediately and be completed by 6 p.m., the mayor said. In Cedar Rapids, a downtown hospital was evacuated as the Cedar River flooded 400 city blocks. Residents of more than 3,000 homes fled for higher ground and a railroad bridge collapsed. The hospital’s 176 patients, including about 30 in a nursing home facility, were being transferred to other hospitals in the region.

The Cedar Rapids evacuation started late Thursday night and continued Friday morning in the city of 124,000 residents.

Full details here.