Hundreds Flee Iowa Flooding
Flooding forced the evacuation of more than 1,200 people today and closed schools in southwestern Iowa after thunderstorms over the Central Plains dumped up to seven inches of rain on the area.
Iowa Gov. Terry E. Branstad signed an order allowing the National Guard to be sent in if requested by local officials in Mills and Montgomery counties.
In Red Oak, Montgomery sheriff’s officials reported 1,000 people were evacuated.
Officials said at least 30 homes were evacuated in Malvern, 6 in Emerson and the entire town of Hastings, which has 215 residents, as rivers and creeks rose over their banks.
The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for Mills and Montgomery counties and a flash flood watch for much of the rest of southwest Iowa.
“We’ve got cars stalled all over” in Red Oak, a sheriff’s dispatcher said.
The Nishnabotna River at Hamburg was expected to crest at about 27 feet by evening, 11 feet above flood stage.
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