Some levees protecting Iowa communities from the rising Missouri River are very fragile and people are being warned to stay away from them — or else. This unidentified man was ticketed for crossing a flood barrier in the Crescent area of Pottawattamie County, north of Council Bluffs.

“The ticket was for $195 and there was no talking about it,” he says. “There was no common sense. I think what they need to do is help people out on a case-by-case scenario. Find out what’s going on.” The man says he owns property in the Crescent area that had been evacuated. He says he wanted to take pictures to show other property owners how conditions had changed since they were forced to leave.

“I went back down there where the levee is to take a photograph to send it back to these guys saying, here’s the water level and I think we can get a canoe or kayak down there with permission from the city of Council Bluffs Fire Marshal to do more assessment,” he says. “Take photographs for insurance, of the propane tanks and a lot of things to eliminate a lot of stress.”

He says the rules change from day-to-day when it comes to the flood.

(Matt Kelley/Radio Iowa)