Flooding in Iowa Draws 1993 Comparisons

Urbandale, Iowa -- Living in Iowa has been a surreal experience the last couple of weeks. While nearly the entire state has been declared a disaster area, the weather has been bright and sunny, with cool breezes in the mornings. Great walking weather. Just a few miles away from where I live, people are forced to evacuate their homes, yet I was able to leisurely walk my dog down the sidewalk.

Less than two hours to the east, the University of Iowa was at risk of losing precious artwork and many expensive grand pianos. I couldn't believe what I was seeing on TV -- waist-high water in the parking lot of the music building where I've been so many times before. At the same time, my son played Chopin on the grand piano in our living room without fear of being waterlogged.

Just north of Iowa City is Cedar Rapids, a town we visit many times during the year for music competitions. The stages where my son sang and dance are now under water-unbelievable! Here in Des Moines, the downtown area was forced to close down as water seeped into businesses. A north-side high school had at least five feet of water in it. At times I have felt like we are living in a land-locked island. The interstates around the city are clogged with commuters trying to find an open street to get home.

Twice in the last two weeks, tornadoes devastated our state. We drove past the small town of Parkersburg that was leveled by a tornado. We awakened to hear about the Boy Scout camp that was devastated by another twister.

The comparison to the floods of 1993 in Iowa really make me think about how much of an impact it had on me personally at that time.

In 1993, we lost our drinking water for two weeks. We drove to water filling stations with containers to get water. My children went to stay with my mother out of town for the duration. I flushed the toilet with the water that was constantly running in my sump pump in the basement. I took a shower at the hospital where I was working.

None of that happened this year. We learned valuable lessons from 1993 and shored up the levies, so we didn't lose our drinking water. Still, so many Iowans are suffering, even as the water level recedes. We'll rally and clean up and survive. The floods of 2008 made history, but we'll learn from them as well.