The lessons learned in 1993, however, helped prevent or otherwise mitigate damage, extensive as it was; one example is how the city of Des Moines raised its levee around its domestic water and sewage treatment plants.

The closure of bridges in Waterloo, Cedar Rapids and Iowa City disrupted usual traffic patterns, and especially led to extensive detours.

Further downstream on the Upper Iowa, in the small historic unincorporated area of Dorchester, located on the left bank of the Waterloo Creek, severe flooding was experienced.

Along the upper Turkey River, the historic towns of Spillville and Fort Atkinson experienced significant flooding, with damaged roads.

[25] The two towns were spared even greater damages by a levee breach upstream in the Massilon-Toronto region, which flooded up to 1,000 acres (4.0 km2) of farmland, easing what would have been a higher crest.

A reported sixteen buildings on the University of Iowa campus were flooded, including Hancher Auditorium; this number was later upped to at least twenty.

Mayflower residence hall, home to about 1,000 students during the school year, took water into its underground parking and utility areas as well as into parts of the first floor.

[49] Vinton experienced the worst flooding in its history starting in the early morning of Wednesday, June 10 with a crest upwards of 24 feet (7.3 m).

[51] The small town of Palo, just upstream from Cedar Rapids, and home of Iowa's only nuclear power plant, underwent a mandatory evacuation.

People were supposed to return to their homes on June 15, but were delayed by hazards such as contamination due to the flood and floating propane tanks.

[55] Beauregard has been recognized for his flood recovery efforts, winning the 2008 Iowa League of Cities Rhonda Wood Johnson award, amongst others.

Due to expedited recovery efforts and processes such as temporary occupancy permits, as of January 1, a majority of Palo residents were back into their homes.

Mid American Energy began terminating natural gas service to the Time Check and Osbourne Park neighborhoods of northwest Cedar Rapids around 5 p.m. on Tuesday, June 10.

[57] The 1st Street NW Time Check Levee, built in the 1930s after the Great Flood of 1929 (20 ft crest), was completely submerged by the Cedar River, according to a KCRG-TV video captured on the morning of Thursday, June 12, 2008.

Electricity was cut off to the flooded parts of the city by the power company, Alliant Energy, as was natural gas; telephone and internet service was also disrupted.

[70] On July 3, 2008, the library's director stated that the main branch may not reopen for at least three years, with the possibility open of moving to a new location altogether.

[73] Repair progressed quickly, and the facility has reopened..[citation needed] The Mother Mosque of America, the oldest building in the United States built specifically for use as a mosque, had its basement flooded, ruining a century's worth of documents and artifacts..[citation needed] Theatre Cedar Rapids' basement, stage, and a large part of the auditorium was flooded.

[citation needed] Congress had earlier authorized a new United States Courthouse to replace the current crowded, outdated building located on 1st Street SE.

Schiller indicated that the plant was largely undamaged, and that the main impediment to full reopening was the lack of adequate electric service, as well as the fact that rail lines were closed.

In the early morning hours of May 1, 2008, five river barges came loose from their moorings at a staging area a short distance upstream of Burlington.

One of the city's largest employers, Case Corporation, had been threatened with rising flood waters, due to its proximity to the riverfront, and due to the closeness to a levee that was severely damaged due to constant rains in the area, by the morning of June 15, Case had ceased all production, and ordered a shutdown of the plant, allowing workers to help in the sandbagging effort, surprisingly, the plant survived the flood unscathed, the fourth such flood it had withstood,(the building that houses the Case plant has stood in its current location since the late 1890s, first as Shower Brothers furniture.

The town didn't see any help until the following summer, when several construction companies finally were allowed into the area, which had been blocked off by the Illinois State Police, and the Henderson County Sheriff's office.

The Gazette's editor at the time, Steve Buttry, officially began his duties just two days before waters rose above flood stage in Cedar Rapids.

Just after midnight, central time, June 13, Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids began evacuating its patients from the facility.

The evacuation was completed by about 8:20 a.m.[99][100] The main public health hazard was the polluted water, mixed with the outflow of overwhelmed sanitary sewer systems, petroleum products and a variety of other toxic materials, to include asbestos.

As the waters recede, tremendous amounts of potentially infectious debris added to the problem; this included uncollected garbage and dead animals.

Even in adults, the stress of applying for services and managing daily activities under catastrophic conditions was expected to exacerbate pre-existing anxiety, depression, or family conflict.

"Once the original shock and dismay pass, the losses of such things as wedding photos or treasured family heirlooms can lead to depression and even post-traumatic stress disorder," said one official.

[104] Some rural areas suffered from a lack of access to badly-needed public and social services, and agencies were overwhelmed with the increase of people needing assistance.

Tests showed that in some trailers, levels of formaldehyde exceeded the limits recommended by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and American Lung Association.