© APThis frame grab provided by WLBT-TV during a news television station helicopter flight over the Mississippi River bridge at Interstate-20 in Vicksburg, Miss., shows one of the runaway barges that hit the bridge Wednesday afternoon, March 23, 2011. The bridge was shut down for several hours Wednesday after an estimated 8 loaded barges broke loose from a southbound tow on the flood-swollen Mississippi River. Some of the barges are believed to have hit the old Interstate-20 bridge pillars but none sank officials reported. The barges are expected to be secured by early evening.
Officials in Davenport, an eastern Iowa city of 100,000 residents that hugs the Mississippi River, say the water level in coming days and weeks could surpass the 22.63-foot record crest in 1993, which closed downtown businesses and streets for weeks and forced the evacuation of hundreds of residents. Davenport is the largest metropolitan area along the upper Mississippi without a flood wall, partly because officials and residents concerned about the cost and protecting their connection to the river have rejected the idea of building one.
The city's flood-fighting strategy plans for a maximum crest of 24 feet. But a National Weather Service forecast that indicates a 50% chance of a record flood has left city officials scrambling to prepare for waters of up to 26 feet.
"If it goes to 24 or 26 feet, that's going to be quite a challenge for the city. I'm not prepared to tell you what would happen," Davenport Mayor Bill Gluba told reporters on Friday. "We've never had the potential for a 24 or 26 foot flood, so I am concerned."
Across the river in Moline, Ill., which with Rock Island, Davenport and Bettendorf makes up the Quad Cities region, the city also was preparing for flooding.
Davenport flooded in 1993, 1997, 2001 and 2008, among other years, prompting residents to band together to protect their city from a rising river that can deluge businesses and homes near downtown.
City officials have encouraged volunteers to fill up sandbags that will be deployed to protect buildings downtown. Over the weekend, they filled more than 10,000 and similar efforts were continued this week as the city pushes to have more than 100,000 bags ready.
"It's going to be a big one," volunteer Chris Welvaert, 33, said as he loaded sandbags in a pile at a city warehouse with others on Tuesday. "They are comparing it to the flood of '93. I remember how bad it was then."
Workers outside Modern Woodmen Park, a city-owned stadium that is home to the Quad Cities River Bandits, a minor league team affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals, were working Tuesday to finish installing an expanded flood protection system to protect the ballpark that has long been a staple of the city's riverfront.
Workers are constructing pillars in front of the stadium where temporary aluminum walls will be installed during the flood for protection. General Manager Kirk Goodman said he believed the field would be protected from water but he was making contingency plans to move home games that begin in two weeks to other locations should that be necessary.
"Worst-case scenario, the water gets through," he said. "Ideally we don't want to play anywhere but here. But if there's a safety and an access matter, you've got to do what's safe for our players, our staff and our fans."
The ballpark, downtown businesses, a park called Credit Island on the city's southwest side and a neighborhood of about 300 modest single-family homes known as the Garden Addition have taken the brunt of the damage during past floods.
Gluba said during the 1993 flood some Garden Addition residents were furious after they were forced to evacuate their homes for up to two weeks. The city was working to fill in low spots in the neighborhood, but Gluba promised a different approach if evacuations become necessary.
"I'm going to say 'hey, if you want to stay, that's your call. Don't call us if there's water coming in and you weren't smart enough to get the heck out of there'," the mayor said. "You are ultimately responsible for your own well-being. The city is going to do all it can to get people removed from these flood-prone areas on their own free will ... (but) if they don't want to follow suggestions and directions, they'll pay the consequences."
City administrator Craig Malin said city employees have been warned vacation requests will not be granted between late March and late May because the flood will be "an all hands on deck event." City officials were planning to hold meetings this week to brief residents and business owners about preparation efforts, with the first set for Tuesday evening at a community center near the Garden Addition.
Malin said city engineers were reviewing all of the city's critical locations and developing plans to fight the flood using pumps, earth berms, HESCO barriers that act as temporary dikes and sandbags. He said they would ask for city council approval next week for an updated plan to fight a flood with a 26-foot crest.
The major elements of the existing plan include closing downtown streets when waters reach certain levels, building dikes to protect key areas and sandbagging around buildings.
That is Riverside Dr, big houses on the hill not wanting a levee, for at least the sandbags are temporary only and not a permanent blight on their river view.