The Floods of 2008 have proven that Iowans are a tough lot, but just how much
can we take? Storms resulted in 17 deaths in seven Iowa counties from May
25 to June 19. Gov. Chet Culver declared 83 of Iowa's 99 counties as
emergency disaster areas with 37 of those counties approved by the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for individual assistance and 39 counties
covered under a Presidential Disaster Declaration for public assistance.
Several of Iowa's major watersheds, including the Raccoon, Des Moines, Cedar,
Iowa and, ultimately, Mississippi, have wreaked havoc on the lives of tens of thousands of
Iowans. Half of Parkersburg disappeared after an E5 tornado blew through
the town on May 25. Four Boy Scouts lost their lives during a tornado in
Little Sioux Scout Ranch little more than two weeks later. Weather-related
damage estimates have reached millions of dollars.
Scientists have been warning us that extreme
weather is the result of global warming. "Heavy rains and floods will
increase, but so will extreme droughts and forest fires…,” Dr. James Hansen,
noted climate scientist, said in Des
Moines in August 2007. Global warming may be contributing to our extreme
weather, but flooding is also a combination of other factors like extreme rain
events, upstream wetland destruction and the loss of land protected through the
Conservation Reserve Program, inappropriate floodplain development and sprawl.
It's a good time to
understand why this is happening and to take steps to prevent further
devastation in the future.
The following is a list of reports, studies and other websites that discuss
the reasons why severe weather is increasing.
Global Warming
