Cedar River Ice Causes Flooding in Cedar Rapids

Thick ice on the Cedar River is breaking up, that's the good news. The bad news is that ice jams are creating local flooding. Yesterday the flood was at its highest in the northwest portion of the city, which is prone to seasonal rises of the river level. Residents living in the Ellis Park area are quite edgy about rising waters given the almost total devastation from the Flood of 2008.

Today flood viewers were massing near the Quaker Oats plant to see huge ice blocks stacked like arctic frozen flows.

At mid-afternoon the local news outlets reported the jam had given way and water levels were dropping in the flooded areas. At the same time national media reported the selection of Pope Francis. Maybe the two events are a coincidence. Maybe not.