State of Play: Floods Ravage Iowa

With 100 city blocks flooded in Cedar Rapids and dramatic photos to prove it, major media is all over the story.  Officials were evacuating a Cedar Rapids hospital Friday morning and asking residents to leave 200 homes near downtown Des Moines, where engineers worry water may spill over a nearby levy. Gov. Chet Culver (D) has declared disaster areas in 83 of the state’s 99 counties. Our sister site, Iowa Independent, has comprehensive coverage.

This morning headlines spared no expense in capturing the drama.

Apocalypse Now: Floods, Tornadoes, Locusts (ABC News)

Floodwaters ravage Cedar Rapids, force evacuation of hospital (Chicago Tribune)

Thousands Flee As Waters Rise In Iowa (CBS News)

‘Beyond what anybody could even imagine’ (MSNBC)

In Eastern Iowa, the City That ‘Would Never Flood’ Goes 12 Feet Under (New York Times)

Rising Flood Water Forces Evacuation of Iowa Hospital (The Wall Street Journal)

100 city blocks flooded (CNN)