Thursday, June 2, 2011

Five Feet High and Rising...or How Johnny Cash Got It All Wrong!

The river stage at the Missouri River seven miles west of us is currently 33.62 feet and rising. In three days time the River will be at 36.2 feet which is well past flood stage of 35 feet.

There are six Missouri River dams above us that stretch into several states.

The Oahe Dam at Pierre, South Dakota, is currently releasing a record 85,000 cubic feet of water per second. Flooding is already occurring on the bank areas in the Sioux City area north of us.

The volume will reach 150,000 cubic feet per second next week. When that flow reaches our county there will be major flooding. And since that record release will continue for the next couple months...well....the flooding will continue as well. This is not a happy scenario.

We're hoping our little town of Onawa will remain dry. According to the maps released by the Corps it should. But there will be flooding all around us. Lots of it.


An informational meeting was held this evening at the local school. To
o bad they didn't charge a dollar per person...they could have made a bundle. The gymnasium was full. The information was not conducive to happy spirits afterwards. Many farmers attending that meeting can expect their entire farms to be inundated and remain flooded for months. Residents of Blencoe south of us are already clearing their basements and packing up their belongings to evacuate.


I do not know how this summer will turn out. This next week will give us a good idea what to expect the rest of the summer months.

To use the lyrics of Johnny Cash...."How high's the water, Mamma?" Well the answer is, it's an awful lot higher than "five feet high and risin' ".

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3 comments:

Debby said...

I've been wondering how the two of you were doing. I was thinking more about your health. I hadn't thought of flooding. Our creeks and rivers have been very high here. They have been high for quite some time. The farmers are just now able to get their planting done. What strange weather we are having...everywhere. Good luck. We'll be praying for you all.

Diane said...

I cannot imagine. There are so very many people hurting right now - floods, tornadoes, storms - yet what an incredible opportunity for the gospel. Is this our last chance for revival before the end begins? Will pray; keep us updated.

gvandyk said...

This our chance to be the church again. We need to be out there bringing the only news of hope, faith in Jesus Christ. We need to also be the one who shows compasion to our neighbors and not have people depend on the goverment. Sacrifice, love and prayer should be the call of the day and every day.