Shellrock River flooding, June 8, 2008

This is the millrace and levee from the northeast side of the park:




Watching the river eat away the dam and levee:




The river between the 1st Street bridge to the left and the construction site for the new bridge:




Camp at the Woods upriver was evacuated at 5 a.m. this morning, Rock Falls is evacuated and the river is up over the bridge through town, Plymouth is evacuated, as are parts of Rockford and Marble Rock downstream. When, not if, the levee goes completely, the 1st Street bridge will be taken out, neighborhoods on the south side of town will be underwater and there will be a tremendous amount of devastation all the way from here to Shellrock.

This dam holds back a large volume of water at its usual level and when it rises 10+ feet (as it has since last night) the volume increases exponentially. Spotters are at various points along the river, at bridges, overlooks and on the interstate bridge to keep an eye on water levels. We have had more rain in the last hour and are expecting even more through the afternoon. The power company has dropped numerous power lines to keep outages to a minimum.

The Winnebago that runs through Mason City has hit 18' and is still rising. The waterworks on 12th Street NE are underwater and the sewage treatment plant south of town is flooded. Water is over the bridge on 122 by the high school, many neighborhoods are flooded and evacuations are ongoing.

We are watching the water rise into our backyard, numerous trees which are usually 5+ feet above the water are about 5 feet deep in water at this time. Just 2 houses downstream trees halfway up a yard have been uprooted.

Just received word that the 1st Street bridge is now closed. Water is right up to the road surface and the authorities are worried it will collapse.

It's started raining hard, again. This is a calamitous situation....