2. Why Were the 2008 Floods So Large? by Witold F. Krajewski and Ricardo Mantilla
What were the main reasons that caused perhaps the worst flood in the history of Iowa? This is a question that this chapter seeks to answer. With over 1.2 million acres of agricultural land damage, an answer to why this flood occurred needed to be answered so the severity of future floods can be prevented. Rather than one main factor causing the flood, it is believed that three factors led to this devastating event in 2008.
These factors included the severe winter that preceded the flood, the intense rainstorms of late May and early June and the possibility of a perfect storm. The severe winter can be blamed due to the excessive snow which melted and left the ground wet for months and left the ground unable to allow vegetation to dry the soil. The record breaking rain falls that came in May and June only wet the ground more and added to the problem of it not being able to produce crops effectively.
Finally, a perfect storm was seen as a factor to explain the 2008 floods' intensity. The timing and location of the rain maximized flood intensity. With the ground already being saturated with water, the new rainfall flowed into the nearest drainage channel. In all. the water that was saturated in the ground created a massive water traffic jam which resulted in the rising of rivers. With the rivers being overfilled, the only way that the water could be released was onto the land.
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