Flood in Palo Alto County, Iowa

The West Fork of the Des Moines at Emmetsburg crested at 15.47 ft on June 24 at 01:15 pm CDT. The river remained in flood through the end of the month and into July. Preliminary information indicates this is the new flood of record for the point.

Heavy rain fell over portions of northern Iowa, especially northwestern Iowa and bordering states later on June 20 through early on June 21. This rainfall caused flash flooding in portions of northwest Iowa and also aided in saturating the soil. As another round of heavy rain fell later on June 21 into the night and morning of June 22, this rainfall led to renewed flash flooding. This rainfall made its way into streams and rivers resulting in significant and record river flooding in northwest Iowa including the West Fork of the Des Moines River. Flooding resulted in massive sandbagging efforts, prolonged road closures and damages, and impacts to home and businesses.

Note: damage estimates are taken from Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Department and represent total flood damages for the entire county for the month of June. Damages are estimated to have surpassed $12 million in June.