Pottawattamie County Emergency Management Director Doug Reed reports somewhere between 4- to 8-inches or more of rain fell overnight Sunday into Monday throughout Pottawattamie County, causing significant runoff, saturated soils, and flash flooding. The event stranded motorists in flooded streets, created bank and hillside sloughing, closed roads, and toppled trees.

Public Works, Roads Department, and Public Safety agencies across Council Bluffs and the county responded to reports of mudslides, trees, and water making roads impassable. As of late Monday afternoon, Reed said approximately fourteen street locations were closed in Council Bluffs as well as three locations in rural Pottawattamie County. Motorists driving through flood inundated streets in Council Bluffs prompted rescue calls to the fire department this morning who provided assistance to motorists in three vehicles stranded in high water. Minor power outages were also reported during the flash flooding event. No injuries have been reported as a result of Monday’s events.

Rainfall and runoff has spiked the West Nishnabotna and Missouri Rivers in the county. The Nishnabotna is predicted to crest at 12.1’ at 7pm Monday night and the Missouri is expected to crest at 28.5’ by 7pm Tuesday night. Both crests place the rivers in their Action Stage classification and are not expected to reach flood stage at this time.

As the high water and flash flooding may have inundated some residential or business properties, any residents are asked to report any damages to the Emergency Management Agency online at https://pottcounty-ia.gov/departments/emergency-management/overview/. Any residents that would like a Red Cross “muck-out” cleaning kit can pick one up at the Emergency Management Agency starting at 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. through this Thursday.

Officials remind and urge residents not to drive through water covered streets and roads. Covered roads can have washouts and other dangerous hazards unseen to motorists. Rapid currents as shallow as 6 inches can cause loss of control and stalling in many cars and a foot of water will float many cars.

Emergency Management provided alert notifications to residents in impacted areas. If you did not receive a phone call or text message and would like to receive emergency notifications during emergencies and other critical events affecting your neighborhood or place of work, sign up for emergency alerts with Pottawattamie Alert, part of the Alert Iowa Network. This system is the primary means of distributing emergency evacuation orders, critical public information, and other important messaged before, during, and after an emergency or disaster. To register, visit the county website at www.pottcounty-ia.gov.