Cedar Rapids residents hope flood barriers hold

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Residents of Cedar Rapids, Iowa’s second-largest city, hope a temporary floodwall that is protecting thousands of homes and downtown buildings from the rain-swollen Cedar River will hold as the rain-swollen Cedar River crests.

The river is expected to reach its peak Tuesday morning at 23 feet before slowly falling through the week. Residents fear a devastating flood like the one that hit the eastern Iowa city of 130,000 in 2008.

City crews and residents have been stacking sandbags and building larger barriers for days in anticipation of the high water, which followed days of heavy rain in northern Iowa.

Schools have been cancelled through Thursday and the city’s downtown and some neighbourhoods are like ghost towns as resident abide by a request to evacuate.