Widespread flooding continues to impact Siouxland for a third consecutive day, as the Big Sioux River reached a record level through Sioux City and a mandatory evacuation of some Riverside area homes was ordered Monday morning.
The Big Sioux River crested at a new record level of 46 feet at 8 a.m. Monday, above the prior record of 37.7 feet. Sioux City officials have opened the Tyson Event Center for people in Riverside needing a place to shelter.
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds at 9:30 a.m. began a day of touring many flooded Northwest Iowa counties, with plans to visit Hawarden, Rock Rapids, Rock Valley, Spencer, and Cherokee. The latter two towns have been flooded by the Little Sioux River.
The flooding in Northwest Iowa resulted in state and federal highways 60, 9, 18, 71, and others being closed down from Saturday to Monday.
The South Dakota Department of Transportation shared a photo of Interstate 29 in the North Sioux City, showing the highway completely covered with floodwaters. I-29 remains closed until further notice in South Dakota from exit 2 to exit 26, the exit that leads to Vermillion.
Iowa’s Director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, John Benson, says the situation is serious and will continue to “blossom.”
“This flood is not over. Right now, everything you see in northwest Iowa is being dumped into the Missouri River. If you go look at the river gauges in the Missouri, they are going up, and they are going to go up quickly," Benson said.
Benson said emergency management leaders in counties across the region have been working non-stop to keep their communities safe.
On Sunday afternoon, Jaselyn Wissink, and other volunteers helped clean sewage out of Ransom Church in Rock Rapids, Iowa.
Wissink said closed roads made it almost impossible to travel into the community over the weekend. Her home also saw a sewer surge on Friday morning after a first round of flooding on Thursday, followed by even more on Saturday.
“You know, people should just really keep Northwest Iowa and their thoughts and prayers. It’s really tough,” she said.
Wissink says many businesses in town are damaged or destroyed after water flowed even higher than record-breaking flooding a decade ago. At that time, dozens of homes had to be torn down.
The evacuation of Riverside in Sioux City began at 2 a.m. Monday, with door-to-door notifications being carried out. Red Cross and medical personnel are working at the Tyson Events Center to help displaced people.
The Big Sioux River water levels are anticipated to remain high through late Monday.
"We anticipate that the evacuation area will continue to expand," a city of Sioux City press release said.
A National Weather Service official said Northwest Iowa and adjacent state localized areas received about 10 inches of rain over a short time, and that moisture is now working its way through river systems downstream. There’s also concern that the forecast calls for more rain with heavier precipitation later in the week.
Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen authorized the deployment of a military helicopter and crew to assist with search and rescue operations in Northwest Iowa. The four Army Guard members from the Nebraska National Guard departed Sunday and worked on Monday as well.
