Major Flood Warnings Issued for Mississippi River Cities

A screenshot taken on April 26, 2023, shows "major" river flooding (in purple) along the Mississippi River. (National Weather Service via The Epoch Times)

A number of cities along the Mississippi River across the Midwest are facing major flooding events as of Wednesday morning, according to the National Weather Service’s river monitoring service.

According to the NWS’s river flood monitoring website, approximately 20 gauges along the Mississippi River are seeing “major flooding“ or ”moderate flooding” as of Wednesday morning, namely in Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, and Wisconsin. Major flooding was occurring along the Mississippi in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area; Dubuque, Iowa; New Boston, Illinois; La Crosse, Wisconsin; and other areas, the service shows.

Officials told NBC News that Davenport, Iowa, a city of around 100,000, installed barriers to prevent flooding. Some areas near the riverfront were closed due to high water on Tuesday, officials said.

“We have floods every year ... it’s whether it’s going to be a major flood,” Mayor Mike Matson told reporters on Tuesday as video footage and photos uploaded online shows the river rushing across multiple states.

Aerial photos posted by the Crawford County Emergency Management in Wisconsin show a significant portion of St. Feriole Island is currently underwater due to Mississippi flooding. Local meteorologist Jeff Makowski told Wisconsin Public Radio that the river is forecast to reach just over 16 feet in La Crosse, or the third-highest level in recorded history.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds issued a disaster proclamation on Monday for a number of counties, allowing the state to free up resources to deal with Mississippi flooding. That includes Allamakee, Clayton, Clinton, Des Moines, Dubuque, Jackson, Lee, Louisa, Muscatine, and Scott counties, Reynolds said.

On Tuesday, the Iowa Department of Transportation said there were road closures near the river, while some roads next to the waterway are expected to flood later this week. The state’s Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management urged residents to keep an eye out for updates and should prepare to evacuate if needed.

“Iowans who live along the Mississippi River are urged to prepare for possible flooding by having a plan to evacuate if necessary, packing an emergency kit with supplies for several days, staying informed about flood forecasts for their communities, and following information and guidance issued by local officials,” a notice from Reynolds’ office stated.

North of Iowa, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation confirmed Tuesday that multiple highways were closed in northwest and southwest Wisconsin due to river flooding. Local media reports noted that some areas along the Mississippi River could see the highest water levels in 20 years.

A reason for the excess flooding is due to recent winter storms that produced heavy snow across the Midwest, officials said. When ice melts in the spring, that resulting water flows into the area’s waterways, which then ultimately heads to the Mississippi River.

“If it remains wetter, and we have more rainfall and thunderstorms, that could cause the river stages to stay elevated for a longer period of time than say if we get into a more prolonged dry spell which would allow the river levels to come down from these crests more steadily going through the next month or so,” Makowski, the meteorologist, told Wisconsin Public Radio.