Latest Battle in Flooding: The Hype

By Justin Foss, Reporter

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By Justin Foss

Story Created: Mar 13, 2010 at 9:23 PM CST

Story Updated: Mar 20, 2011 at 11:34 AM CST

PALO - The latest flood-related battle in Palo is over all the hype.

"And I think sometimes some of the information we get has a tendency to get us to over-react some,” said Palo Mayor John Harris.

Just outside of Palo runs the Cedar River. And as it gets higher, it seems everyone is talking about it.

"My friends outside of Palo have been worrying about me and all my friends,” said Catelyn Oliphant, 11, Palo.

And that's understandable; the Cedar invaded her home in 2008.

"In my house, it went about two flights of stairs,” said Oliphant.

Harris said they can't control the river, but they have built a better way to handle the flooding they get from storm water.

"We got a good preliminary look at it last week when we had some rain, a lot of run-off and the snow melt. And we were happy with what we'd done so far,” said Harris.

Despite the advancements, people in town are still skittish. And communities up and down the Cedar River are echoing that mood. Just last week city officials in Cedar Rapids help a press conference to talk about the approaching water.

Harris said the concern has to be tempered by reality but admits that's not easy.

"Yeah, the flood was 2008, but for a lot of folks in town, it feels like just yesterday,” said Harris.

It's a memory that's not fading, especially with a future that's not known.

And if you ask Oliphant, her and her friends are tired of hearing about it.

“I just don’t want it to happen again,” said Olpihant.

The National Weather Service forecasts river heights for several cities along the Cedar River. It does not forecast for Palo.

Saturday night the river was just below 12 feet. The NWS website said the lowest homes in Palo aren’t affected until the river reaches 18.5 feet.

In Cedar Rapids, the river is forecast to rise another four feet before cresting.

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