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Reading level lost in the storm carrick2/19/2023 ![]() ![]() Russell and Elsie climbed onto one of the family cars, while Jim, a former high school athlete, ran to a neighbor’s tree and climbed as high and as fast as he could. Russell grabbed their little dog and they all went out into the front yard. Suddenly, he began to shout to his wife Elsie and their 19-year-old son, Jim, that the house was filling with water. He got up from his chair and went to investigate. To him, it sounded almost as if something had exploded. He opened the front door and waded out into the water.Įlsewhere in Exira, Russell Smith was sitting at home when he heard a loud popping sound. They had to get out and away from the flood. Without thinking, he woke up his wife, then grabbed his two children, one under each arm. To his utter amazement, a bridge was floating across his driveway! Curious, he got up and looked out of his bedroom window. Sound asleep, he had been awoken by the town fire alarm. They were caught in the tide, and there was nowhere to go. Scared now, the boys looked out the window just in time to see a large tree branch float away, borne by the rushing torrent of water. The car vibrated as something slammed against it outside. Deep water was rushing across the highway, deep enough to reach the floorboards of their car and soak their feet. Without warning, it was wrenched sideways across the road, blocking the way through. This process was repeated and again as the group of friends drove haltingly through the blinding rain toward Audubon.Īs they approached an intersection a few miles south of Audubon, the car ahead of them stopped. He got the vehicle started again, and kept going. Just on the other side of town, Jerry’s car cut out. He turned on the wipers, slowed his speed, and stared hard through the thick sheets of rain at the road. Jerry had driven through rain before, so he wasn’t concerned. As they approached Brayton, he knew they weren’t that far away from home. Night had fallen, and Jerry watched the slow ribbon of concrete stretch out before him in the soft glow of his headlights. He and three of his friends had spent the day in Atlantic, Iowa, and were now travelling back home to Audubon, almost thirty miles to the north. The 4 th of July holiday was only two days away, and they could almost feel the excitement in the air. Jerry Lauritsen was only eighteen years old in 1958. ![]() In the low-lying areas of the Nishnabotna, fireman ran from door to door, waking and warning as many residents as they could. In Exira, a night watchman named Claude Greene began to sound the fire alarm in effort to warn residents. Word about the rising flood waters spread quickly. Soon, the water began to pick up speed, slamming across the landscape. The volume of water that already naturally found its way downstream multiplied, and the river soon reached its own crest and overflowed its banks. In southwest Iowa, streams and creeks began to swell, reaching their crest as they began to enter the larger Nishnabotna River. Depending on the landscape, that weight can cause the water to flow very quickly, giving the water powerful momentum. Water seeks to naturally level itself out, and a large volume of water is very heavy. Puddles became ponds, and ponds became lakes. ![]() Once the ground reached its saturation point, there was nowhere else for all that water to go. To make matters worse, strong winds kept them in place for even longer, allowing them to pour tremendous amounts of water down on western Iowa. Several of these storms were very slow moving, and lingered in the area longer than usual. Thunderstorms blossomed across the landscape, violent and angry. Although there have been many throughout the years, one still stands out in the minds of Southwest Iowa residents. They can come without warning, destroying everything in their path. Flash floods are some of the most devastating natural disasters in the world.
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