News

Portrait of Larry Weber

In the Midwest, relentless floods dredge up 'shadow' of 1993

Monday, June 3, 2019
The Great Flood of 1993, one of the worst in American history, left entire towns ravaged. With heavy spring rains and saturated soil, some fear a repeat.
Portrait of Larry Weber

Following record river levels, should Davenport build a flood wall?

Friday, May 24, 2019
The floodwaters have largely receded in Davenport, weeks after the Mississippi River crested at its highest level on record and flooded parts of downtown. The city is known for its progressive approach to flooding, giving the river more room to ebb and flow while other communities build walls. But the recent flooding is testing this philosophy of resilience.
Portrait of Witold Krajewski

Climate change, predicting floods and the impact on people

Thursday, May 23, 2019
The floods in March showed us that mother nature can be unpredictable. A lot of people believe they’re the result of poor levees but in our investigation, we found out that it's much more than that.
Photo of the Stanley Hydraulics Laboratory building

The dice are loaded

Monday, May 13, 2019
With the help of my colleagues at IIHR—Hydroscience & Engineering and the Iowa Flood Center (both at the University of Iowa), I created this timeline with information on recent extreme weather events.
Aerial photo of the Stanley Hydraulics Laboratory

University of Iowa, LSU flood experts take on Mississippi River flooding

Tuesday, May 7, 2019
The Mississippi River at Davenport crested at a new record height last week after a flood protection barrier broke near the city's downtown, inundating several blocks with murky and contaminated floodwater.
Portrait of Larry Weber

The Weather Channel features Dr. Larry Weber

Friday, May 3, 2019
Larry Weber discusses flooding issues in Iowa.
Photo of the Stanley Hydraulics Laboratory building

Iowa recovers from devastating floods, prepares for more

Friday, April 19, 2019
Iowans are being asked to use last month's catastrophic flooding as leverage to renew conversations about prevention and state water quality, since climate-change experts warn such incidents will become more frequent.
Aerial photo of the Stanley Hydraulics Laboratory

Three ways to address increasing flood risk in the Midwest

Tuesday, April 2, 2019
Historic flooding across the Great Plains and Midwest has been devastating. While waters may be receding, farmers and communities aren’t out of the woods yet. Recovery will be costly and lengthy, and additional floods could be around the corner.
Portrait of Witold Krajewski

Governor Kim Reynolds visits Linn County Emergency Management to discuss prep, mitigation efforts

Thursday, March 28, 2019
Governor Kim Reynolds visited Cedar Rapids Thursday to speak with area experts and members of the Linn County Emergency Management team. This comes after the governor says 57 counties in Iowa have received the governor's disaster proclamation.
Photo of Iowa capitol building

Legislative leaders pledge state response to Iowa floods

Friday, March 22, 2019
Republican leaders in the Iowa legislature say they will meet with Governor Kim Reynolds to chart the state’s response to the catastrophic flooding that’s hit western Iowa.