Iowa Flood in Muscatine 2008

Iowa Flood photo by Kari

The floods on '93 impacted us personally in a big, big way.

Iowa Muscatine Flood photo by Kari

Muscatine was fortunate not to have been totally overwhelmed, although several businesses had their basements flooded and that's not pretty, especially if there is merchandise stored in them.

Muscatine Flood photo by Kari

One business owner told me as they were desperately trying to save their bicycles from their flooded basement, the local authorities told them to clear the alley for the tourists, and if they didn't comply, they could be arrested.

Muscatine Flood photo by Kari

Oh, dear, what's this city coming to? Since when do tourists looking at the floods become more important than local business owners? It's a no-brainer, right?

Muscatine Flood photo by Kari

Apparently, someone came to the rescue and claimed back the business owner's rights to rescuing their soggy bicycles. Good thing.

Muscatine Flood photo by Kari

It was a sad day for the downtown businesses the day I took these photos. Nobody likes to pump water from their basements. It's no fun and not too exciting to clean up afterwards either.

Muscatine Flood photo by Kari

I can identify to a degree as our family faced a catastrophe in the flood of 1993.

We were building our home with a lovely overlook of the Mississippi River in a subdivision on Highway 22 and felt horrible for all the cabins on the river being flooded to death.

We were thankful that our new home was perched high on a hill safe, we thought, from harms way.

Muscatine Flood photo by Kari

Until, one day, our neighbor's driveway suddenly dropped 10 feet, yes, feet!

Just what was going on?

Then we noticed a hairline crack along the entire front of our basement cement floor. OH OH....somethings happening here.

Each day the crack grew larger and larger and larger.

Muscatine Flood photo by Kari

Soon we noticed our foundation shifting and starting to crack.

We asked our engineer friend, Bob Hatcher, to take a serious look at what was happening.

Muscatine Flood 2008 photo by Kari

It didn't take him long to assess the situation. He turned to my husband and said....I'll never forget his words....."Mark, don't work anymore on this house. It's in big trouble."

Muscatine Flood photo by Kari

We stopped working and could only stand by helplessly as our house started to be carried away down the hill, slowly, slowly, inch by inch.

The county road crews were literally scraping our lot soil off the county road at the bottom of our two acre lot.

Muscatine Flood Iowa photo by Kari

Apparently, this hill is constructed with lots of shale in it and when it gets wet, it slips, taking anything on it with it.

It happened to be taking our new home with it down the hill during 1993 Iowa flood.

Muscatine Iowa Flood photo by Kari

More engineers looked at it and the unanimous prognosis was: "Move it or Lose it!"

Ouch! Now that's a big deal! A big expensive deal! And also a big deal to find a new place to relocate it. Another big expensive deal!

So, you see, I do understand a little when people have various flood related catastrophes.

But let this little stubborn petunia which is growing in the cracks of downtown Muscatine, be a sign of hope that yes, even if the situation is hard, something good can blossom!

Hope for Muscatine photo by Kari

Return to Kari's main page after Iowa Flood.