Well, I am homeless at the moment. I ended up being evacuated from my apartment building by boat yesterday. The water around my apartment building was somewhere between knee deep and chest high in places. Luckily, my apartment building is built on stilts, so my belongings should be fine.

I decided to leave because the electricity was out, I had no food that did not require the use of a stove, and the water has to be boiled to be used. The whole city is in a mess right now because a 2-foot wide water main broke under Squaw Creek, which is currently flooded. Currently, the city is under a boil order because of the water main break.

Luckily, I am a grad student and have access to my department's building for shelter. My parents will be picking me up tomorrow, so I don't have it so bad. Unfortunately, some people without electricity are going to be in trouble tomorrow as the temperatures are supposed to get in the low 90's. They will also probably not be able to boil their water. I wish them luck.

An article on the situation:
Rising water swamps Ames | desmoinesregister.com | The Des Moines Register

Aerial Photos:
Flooding aerials: Weds., Aug. 11 photos | Des Moines Register

Iowa State's Flood Website (Scroll Down to Video and Picture Links):
Flood updates | www.news.iastate.edu

I thought some people might be interested in what was going on in this neck of the US.