The Sioux City Fire Rescue made the following posts on Facebook over the weekend:
“In the early morning hours of Saturday, June 22, Sioux City Fire Rescue’s Urban Search and Rescue team- Iowa Task Force 1, deployed to Rock Valley, Iowa to assist in evacuating the town due to a breached levy. Thirteen team members with multiple rescue boats have rescued many people and animals stranded in the floodwaters. They will continue until the mission is complete. We send our thoughts and prayers to all those affected by flooding in northwest Iowa.
“After completing its mission in Rock Valley on Saturday, June 22, Iowa Task Force 1 moved on to assist Hawarden, Iowa. The amphibious vehicle was used to rescue those stuck in rising waters. The mission was accomplished and crews returned to Sioux City late Saturday evening. The team will continue to be prepared for any upcoming needs in Iowa.”
Dave Dreeszen
Sioux City Journal, Iowa
(TNS)
Over 400 residents in North Sioux City and Sioux City’s Riverside neighborhood were without power Monday morning in the wake of flooding along the Big Sioux River.
The outages came as Sioux City Fire Rescue crews began going door-to-door to evacuate Riverside residents threatened by the raging river, which hit an all-time high Monday morning.
At 7:30 a.m., MidAmerican Energy’s power outage map showed 180 affected customers in Sioux City, 247 in North Sioux City and 11 elsewhere in Union County, S.D.
The outages came as the Big Sioux River reached a record depth of 44.98 feet at 5:15 a.m., shattering the previous record of 37.7 feet set on June 20, 2024, according to data from the National Water Prediction Service. The river is expected to slowly recede throughout the day Monday, falling just below the flood stage of 32 feet by 7 p.m.
As the Big Sioux roared over its banks, Union County authorities on Sunday urged residents in some neighborhoods of North Sioux City and Dakota Dunes to evacuate their homes.
Woodbury County authorities, just after midnight, released a map of a potential evacuation area for Riverside. A shelter has opened at the Tyson Events Center.
A temporary levee was constructed along River Drive Sunday to help protect the more vulnerable residences. Despite the temporary measure, as well as a system of permanent levies along the river, some areas of Riverside were underwater Monday morning.
The supercharged Big Sioux wreaked havoc overnight, causing the partial collapse of a railroad bridge connecting North Sioux City and Sioux City around 10:40 p.m. Steel trestles from the bridge could be seen floating down the river.
At Sioux City, the Big Sioux feeds into the Missouri River, which also soared past its 2018 levels. The Missouri crested at 31.53 feet at 6:15 a.m. Monday. That’s less than 3 feet short of the record of 35.3 feet during the months-long flooding along the river in 2011.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem is provide an update of the flooding and state and local responses at a news conference at 8:30 a.m. at the North Sioux City Fire Station.
For more flooding developments, check back at siouxcityjournal.com
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