HAMBURG, Iowa [KCCI] — This week marks five years since the historic and devastating flooding along the Missouri River. It caused more than a billion dollars in damage and many southwest Iowa towns were forced to rebuild. A total of 57 counties were under disaster proclamations.

The town of Hamburg was without power, water supply and electricity for days. The Army Corps of Engineers said several levee failures caused the waters to rise.

Last year, Gov. Kim Reynolds created an Office of Levee Safety. In the coming year, work will be done to flag and improve poor design and performance along our waterways. The goal is to hopefully prevent flooding like that from happening again.

Aerial photo of Hamburg – Ditch 6 shows scope of damage from the flooding. Photo taken Mar. 17, 2019. – US Army Corps of Engineers photo