Rock Valley, Iowa — Flooding continues to be a problem for residents of the city of Rock Valley. But things are starting to look up. We had a chance to get an update late Friday afternoon from Nate Huizinga, who’s the Sioux County Emergency Management Director.
He says most people if they evacuated, are returning to their homes. Huizinga says the flooding this year was not as bad as that of 2014.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has asked Rock Valley to shut down their wells for the time being, so they are asking residents not to water lawns and to turn off automatic sprinklers.
Original story posted: Jun 22, 2018 at 9:35 a.m.:
Rock Valley, Iowa — The recent heavy rains continue to cause major issues in northwest Iowa. Mayor Kevin Van Otterloo has issued a state of emergency for the City of Rock Valley due to the rising floodwaters.
Van Otterloo says that with the heavy rains upstream, the city is again facing flooding that is affecting Rock Valley citizens and the city close to the level of the record floods of 2014. Despite the best efforts of the 400 plus volunteers on Thursday evening, they were not able to hold the water back.
Mandatory evacuations have been issued for parts of Rock Valley for over a dozen square blocks in preparation for the rising floodwaters. They tell us that all streets from 17th Street to the north are closed due to flood waters.
The city called for volunteers to establish berms and fill sandbags Thursday evening. But they advise that they have completed filling and placing the sandbags and are no longer looking for volunteers at this time, but they may be looking for volunteers to collect them when the time comes.
Van Otterloo says that their primary responsibility is to keep their citizens safe.
Sioux County Emergency Management Director Nate Huizenga says that the Sioux County Emergency Management Agency has been involved in protecting the citizens of Rock Valley and Sioux County with the most recent floods. He says they have been in contact with the American Red Cross, they’ve helped dispatch trucks with sand, and they’ve been in communication with the National Weather Service to work alongside Rock Valley helping with whatever resources EMA can provide.
The Rock River is predicted to crest at 21.5 feet, which is the second highest crest in recent history. The river crested at 22.72 feet in 2014 when many homes were damaged in floodwaters.
Churches have been designated within the city as emergency housing shelters for those evacuees that need shelter. Emergency personnel has been dispatched from Orange City, Hull, and Sioux Center as back up to Rock Valley Fire and Rescue while they are assisting in flood relief.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has asked Rock Valley to shut down their wells for the time being, so they are asking residents not to water lawns and to turn off automatic sprinklers.
