Rain cuases flooding in Iowa

DUBUQUE, Iowa — Storms dumped a foot or more of rain on parts of eastern Iowa, flooding streets, homes and buildings and forcing the rescue of stranded motorists, officials said Thursday.

The National Weather Service lifted its flash flood warnings at 4:15 a.m. but was still alerting officials and residents about the flood danger.

“It’s Dubuque County that’s really getting hammered,” said Dubuque County emergency management coordinator Tom Berger.

Berger said some people had to be rescued from their homes and stranded vehicles in Dubuque County, but no injuries have been reported to him.

Water 2 to 3 feet deep was seen on some streets and homeowners were reporting flooding in their basements, Berger said.

National Weather Service meteorologist Tom Philip said Dubuque Regional Airport reported 10.92 inches over the past 24 hours. Edgewood in northern Delaware County reported 3.07 inches over that same period.

Heavy rain also was reported in nearby Jackson and Jones counties.

The city of Dubuque said it had received reports of 14.33 inches of rain since 6 p.m. Wednesday.

Philip said it was still raining in Dubuque and that there was a 60 to 70 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms in the area through the end of Thursday, when the chance of rain was expected to diminish.

The city of Dubuque advised motorists to avoid downtown because of standing water. The city said U.S. Highway 151/61 exit ramps were closed, as was the Julien Dubuque Bridge over to East Dubuque, Ill.

Sections of U.S. Highways 20, 52 and 151 have been closed, the Iowa Transportation Department said.