Damn Damn Dam!!

[Warped]

Dam fails in eastern Iowa, causing massive flooding

(CNN) -- A dam on an eastern Iowa lake suffered a "catastrophic" failure Saturday, sending a massive amount of water into nearby communities and forcing residents to flee, officials said.

The Lake Delhi dam, about 45 miles north of Cedar Rapids, failed as a result of "massive rain -- a very unusually high amount this season," according to Jim Flansburg, communications director for Gov. Chet Culver.

Culver told CNN that nearly 10 inches of rain had recently fallen in a 12-hour period in the area and was "too much water for the dam to hold."

The roads on either side of the dam -- which were part of the dam's containment measures -- apparently gave out as a result of the rainfall, Flansburg told CNN.

The National Weather Service reported a 30-foot-wide gap in the berm alongside the dam.

Video showed massive amounts of water violently gushing from the pool behind the dam into the river below. Nearby homes and buildings were under water up to their eaves.

Evacuation sirens sounded about 1 p.m. (2 p.m. ET) for the approximately 700 residents of Hopkinton, who had about five minutes to flee, Flansburg said.

No injuries were reported.

The town of Monticello, where Culver was meeting with emergency personnel, was also under a flood warning.

Culver activated the National Guard in the area to help with recovery efforts, his office said.

Culver credited the lack of injuries to local officials providing early warning to residents in the flood plain about the possibility of a dam breach.

The governor said such a failure had never happened before.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/07/24/iowa.dam.breach/index.html?hpt=T1

 

[RakuraiTenjin]

Whats up with all the damn damn bursts? Lots of weird weather and events lately.

 

[Raziaar]

Just natural events and failures, really. Aging infrastructure, improper measures, changing weather patterns.

Isolated events, really.

 

[Warped]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0udToKp6COY

we just had a huge thunderstorm here ourselves. Its usual this time of year but I was driving down my road and had to slow down to like 20mph because I was hydroplaning everywhere

 

[StarBob]

Another dam fail? I guess the US infrastructure issue wasn't a joke. Of course I've been saying that for years. I wish Obama would pull an FDR and do a big ass infrastructure overhaul (roads, bridges, dams, water/sewage, power sources/energy grid, etc) which would make thousands or potentially millions of jobs.

 

[VirusType2]

Another dam fail? I guess the US infrastructure issue wasn't a joke.

Same thing came to mind. Remember they were inspecting all bridges recently after the bridge collapse [last year?].

 

[StarBob]

Same thing came to mind. Remember they were inspecting all bridges recently after the bridge collapse [last year?].

Yeah and the results were terrifying... there were hundreds (if I'm remembering right) of bridges around the country that are well below general safety standards. For developed countries, America has some of the worst general infrastructure around. I guess it has something to do with the sheer amount and the lack of failure... Water and sewer infrastructure has some of the worst in my opinion. Seems like every other month a giant water main or sewer system explodes or breaks down. There are places that are still using wooden pipes from the 1800s...

 

[AtomicSpark]

Oh shi-, that's "nearby".

 

[Stigmata]

Whats up with all the damn damn bursts? Lots of weird weather and events lately.

London Ontario has had a tornado watch/warning every day for at least the past three days, and probably a dozen or more since the snow melted. Usually we get maybe one or two per year. It really feels like the planet is trying to kill us all.

 

[T-6000]

Another dam fail? I guess the US infrastructure issue wasn't a joke. Of course I've been saying that for years. I wish Obama would pull an FDR and do a big ass infrastructure overhaul (roads, bridges, dams, water/sewage, power sources/energy grid, etc) which would make thousands or potentially millions of jobs.

That'd be great, but I doubt that will happen. The road where I live will need a new layer soon, since it's got alot of cracks and some of the edges are crumbling away. And near my dad's farm a bridge has been down for 2 years, with no sign of the county rebuilding it anytime soon. I live in the rural area, so roads and bridges will be kinda overlooked a bit.

 

[RakuraiTenjin]

Another dam fail? I guess the US infrastructure issue wasn't a joke. Of course I've been saying that for years. I wish Obama would pull an FDR and do a big ass infrastructure overhaul (roads, bridges, dams, water/sewage, power sources/energy grid, etc) which would make thousands or potentially millions of jobs.

That's what the stimulus package was supposed to have but that money went straight into the pockets of the elite.

 

[VirusType2]

That's what the stimulus package was supposed to have but that money went straight into the pockets of the elite.

In before Danimal.