Rockford, Floyd County clean up after Saturday storm
By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com
The National Weather Service announced that there was no confirmed tornado, but the storm that rolled through Rockford late Saturday afternoon sure left a mess.
Saturday’s severe weather uprooted trees, caused property damage, power outages, and flooding throughout Floyd County — although there were no severe injuries reported.
On Sunday, authorities were asking for volunteers to help recovery efforts, especially in and around Rockford. They asked for people with power chainsaws, trailers and heavy lifting equipment.
Officials also warned sightseers to stay away from the Rockford area, and that they would be turned away at the city limits. Spectators were discouraged because traffic can hinder cleanup efforts.
There were reports of flash flooding throughout Floyd County Saturday afternoon and evening. Roads were covered with water and fields were flooded all along highway 14 southwest of Charles City, near the county fairgrounds and further south Saturday afternoon and evening.
Due to strong winds, power was out in much of Charles City Saturday evening for just under three hours. Some parts of the downtown didn’t have power restored until Sunday afternoon.
Power crews were scrambling to restore service in Rockford Saturday night and into Sunday. Officials reported Sunday afternoon that 75 percent of the community had its power back.
It was reported that the Rudd-Rockford-Marble Rock Community School District sustained damage to the ball diamonds, concession stand and other sheds, although there was no structural damage to the school itself.
A three-mile stretch of the Avenue of the Saints between mile marker 218 and 226 was still closed Sunday so MidAmerican Energy could make repairs to power lines. The section may be shut down until early this week. Traffic is being rerouted.
Authorities estimated wind destroyed more than 300 trees in Rockford.
The National Weather Service said Sunday that it had not determined if the damage in Rockford had been caused by a tornado. At approximately 4:40 p.m. on Saturday, it was reported that rotation had been spotted over Rockford, headed east. There were no reports of a tornado touching down.
Floyd County Emergency Management reported Saturday that south-central Floyd County has extensive road damage that will take eight weeks or more to repair. The primary concern is south of highway 14. Emergency Manmagement reported that barricades are up, and advised drivers to use caution.
Initially, Floyd County Emergency Management reported that the Cedar River in Charles City was forecast to rise to 17 feet late Sunday night or early Monday morning, which would be nearly five feet above flood stage.
That forecast was altered, however, on Sunday morning, when the predicted crest level was lowered by the National Weather Service to 12.5 feet, at noon on Sunday.
On Thursday night and Friday morning, heavy rains flooded portions of Charles City and Floyd County as some areas saw as many as 5 inches of rain.
Many areas of town saw flash flooding, and the whole outfield on the baseball diamond at Sportsman’s Park was flooded. Brackett Street, behind the ball diamonds, also had a large area of standing water on it as of early afternoon Friday.
Friday marked the 10-year anniversary of the beginning of the 2008 flood in Charles City, which was the worst recorded flood in the town’s history.
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