Tonight I am thinking of Hamburg, Iowa. I am also thinking of friends in Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri as well as they are all dealing with flooding.
I have been seeing a lot of posts on Facebook in the last day about the rising levels of the Missouri River. It is at flood stage in many places and even at record levels at places like Brownville.
I remember well the floods of 1993 and how high the water was. I also remember seeing a lot of the flooding. With water even higher I can just imagine how bad it will be.
Of course the Missouri River has a very long history of flooding and over the years it has created new channels during floods. It is highly unlikely that river course changes will occur today as the river channel has been straightened in many places over the years. However, with floods of historic proportion things happen.
This map shows Hamburg in the upper center. You can see how close it is to the Missouri River and also the outline of how the river used to make a large bend.
You can read more about this in Missouri River Border Anomalies.
I remember seeing this area during the 1993 flood, and most of the area between I-29 and the river was flooded.
In 2011 several levees broke near Hamburg and the flood waters came very close to the town. The image above is from the NASA Earth Observatory.
Tonight they are again sandbagging in Hamburg as the flood waters rise. Hopefully they will be able to keep the town from flooding.
Interstate 29 has been closed from Council Bluffs, Iowa all the way south to Rockport, Missouri.
So many memories are flooding back tonight as I think of the floods.
One more to share. At the time of the 1993 floods I was working for a packaging company in Kansas City. While away on a trip our office was flooded. Fortunately the water was not too deep but it was a mess. The flooding, and how the company handled some of the damaged products, was one of the contributors for me to start looking for a new job. I am still at that new job after 25 years.
Keep my friends who are along the Missouri River in your thoughts as they go through another round of flooding.
Steven
Update: Saturday Night 3/16
The area of Hamburg along and south of Hwy 333 has been evacuated due to a levee break southwest of town.
Braman's Wanderings 