A 6½-foot wall of sandbags stood strong against a stormwater-bolstered Turkey River in Elkader on Friday, a testament to the community’s flood-preparedness.
Clayton County officials, business owners and residents breathed a collective sigh of relief at around 10 a.m. Friday as the river crested at 22.57 feet. That’s 5 feet below record flood levels set in 2008.
Though the surging river reached what the National Weather Service deemed major flood levels, it fell well below the most dire projections.
The flooding follows a period of heavy rains earlier in the week farther north in Iowa. The river should fall below the 12-foot flood stage Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.
Elkader Mayor Josh Pope urged residents to be patient during cleanup, which is expected to last into middle of next week.
“Streets in the downtown area will remain closed until further notice so that fire department personnel and volunteers can clean up the sandbag walls,” Pope said. “This will take some time, so we ask that citizens be very patient.”
Flooding also was occurring Friday elsewhere in Clayton County, which was deemed a disaster area by Gov. Terry Branstad on Thursday. Four other northeast Iowa counties were included in Branstad’s proclamation, which makes residents eligible for state cleanup programs.
As of Friday afternoon, the Turkey River at Garber reached 22.8 feet, which is considered moderate flooding. The river was expected to crest at 24 feet — a major flood level, per the National Weather Service — at 7 p.m. Friday.
Several secondary roads in Clayton County remained closed Friday evening due to flooding, and Alliant Energy shut off power to several Elkader businesses that were expected to take on water.