WORLD> America
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WORLD> America
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Flood victims worry: What's in the water?
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-06-17 17:07 OAKVILLE, Iowa -- As southeastern Iowa prepared for the Mississippi River's wrath, the rest of Iowa began the slow move from protection to cleanup.
In much of the state there were small signs of a return to normalcy: Interstate 80 reopened near Iowa City in eastern Iowa for the first time in days, with Interstate 380 to the north scheduled to reopen early Tuesday. On the University of Iowa campus, officials began to take stock of the damage. And in Des Moines, where a levee failure Saturday sent water pouring into the Birdland neighborhood, some residents returned for the first time to see the damage. "It's really bad. I mean, I can't believe this," said Gloria Ruiz, whose home suffered flood damage. Ruiz pointed to a dirty line about 5 feet up on her basement wall showing how high the water rose. Her washer, dryer and boiler, and most of her children's toys, including a stereo and an Xbox video game system, were ruined. Floodwaters lingered about 50 feet from her driveway. "We don't know how long it will stay like that," she said. Where floodwaters remained, they were a noxious brew of sewage, farm chemicals and fuel. Bob Lanz used a 22-foot aluminum flatboat to navigate through downtown Oakville, where the water reeked of pig feces and diesel fuel. "You can hardly stand it," Lanz said as he surveyed what remained of his family's hog farm. "It's strong." LeRoy Lippert, chairman of emergency management and homeland security in nearby Des Moines County, warned people to avoid the floodwaters: "If you drink this water and live, tell me about it. You have no idea. It is very, very wise to stay out of it. It's as dangerous as anything." |
