Today, heavy rains caused the Lake Delhi dam to fail in Iowa; causing flooding and water continues to pour out at the time of this post.

Heavy rain caused the Lake Delhi dam in eastern Iowa to fail Saturday, sending a torrent into the river below and threatening towns downstream.

Jack Klaus, a spokesman with the Delaware County emergency management office, said warning sirens were sounding in the town of Hopkinton as water pouring down the Maquoketa River began to surround homes Saturday afternoon. Areas below and above the dam had been evacuated, including numerous cabins and homes — as many as 700 — above the dam because of high water.

“There’s going to be significant losses of property there,” Klaus said.

Northeast Iowa has been inundated with torrential rain in recent days, with as much as 9 inches being reported in some locations. The heavy rain has pushed the Maquoketa River to 23.92 feet — more than 2 feet above its previous record of 21.66 feet in 2004.

‘Catastrophic’
The breach began with a section of two-lane road atop the dam collapsing — sparking officials’ worst fears of “a catastrophic release of water,” David Fink, Lake Delhi dam operation manager, told the Des Moines Register. “It’s going to have a hell of a lot of velocity.”

“Chunks of the two-lane highway broke off in 15- and 30-foot blocks and washed away. The iron guard rail snapped and flapped in the wind like a party streamer as the water rushed by,” the newspaper reported on its website.

[SOURCE]