Flooding in Iowa, June 18 to 20, 1998

Following a brief break from the rain on the 16th, rainfall resumed on the 17th and 18th. Heavy rain fell over just about the entire state on both days, with the heaviest amounts of 1 to 3 inches on the first night in the Nishnabotna River basin, the Upper Des Moines and Iowa basins, and the lower parts of the South Skunk basin. These rains fell on already saturated soils and resulted on considerable runoff. On the 18th, the Des Moines metropolitan area was blitzed with a massive flooding event. Local rains in the city ranged form 1 to 4 inches, much of it falling in one to two hours. Much of this water was quickly added to the flows on the already high Raccoon River. The Raccoon crested again on the afternoon of the 18th with the 11th highest crest of record and the 2nd highest since 1993. Four Mile Creek in Des Moines crested at the 3rd highest crest on record, and numerous evacuations were conducted as a result. Cleanup and repair of the damages from this event alone were estimated at $12 million. Numerous rivers south of Des Moines flooded as well. The rivers effected from this event were the Iowa, Squaw Creek, Cedar Creek south of Des Moines, Skunk, Raccoon, Walnut Creek in Des Moines, Beaver Creek in Des Moines, Four Mile Creek in Des Moines, the North, Middle, and South. The situation had become very serious across much of Iowa by this point. In early July, 10 counties were declared major disaster areas by President Clinton and a few days later another 16 counties were added to this list by Vice President Gore. Much of the damage was due to flooding, although severe weather played a major role as well. Damage was very widespread across the state. Many people had water in their basements. Some said they had water even though the did not have water during the flood of '93, suggesting the water table in many areas was as high or higher than during the great flood of '93. Many crop fields were drown out by high water. The true extent of the damage will not be known until the harvest in the fall.