Know Your Flood Risks-Iowa Flood Center Tools

This guest blog comes from Breanna Shea at the Iowa Flood Center. The Iowa Flood Center (IFC) puts science-based information and technology in the hands of Iowa's decision-makers, emergency responders, community leaders, home and business owners, educators, and the public.

Birth of the Iowa Flood Center 

Figure 1. 2008 flood in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

On June 13, 2008, the Cedar River in Cedar Rapids crested at its highest level in history reaching 31.12 feet, shattering the previous record of 20 feet. Many consecutive days of heavy rainfall led to flood damages across the state estimated at $10 billion. The floodwaters inundated 10 square miles of the city, dislocating 18,000 residents and impacting critical buildings including the primary hospital, fire station, library, and police station.  

Iowans lacked access to reliable information to help them understand, plan, and prepare for the 2008 flood. In response, Iowa legislators established the Iowa Flood Center (IFC) at the University of Iowa’s IIHR—Hydroscience and Engineering (IIHR) department, a world-renowned institute for education, research, and public service dedicated to solving some of the world’s greatest water resources challenges. IIHR’s expertise made it the natural home for the IFC, the nation’s first and only academic center devoted solely to flood-related research and education.  

The IFC provides technical support to many local, state, and federal partners through flood monitoring and forecasting, inundation mapping, mitigation, and education and outreach, helping Iowans understand and reduce their current and future flood risks.  

Reliable Information 

Historical data shows that Iowa sees its greatest storm activity during the month of June, and it’s important for Iowans to know their flood risks before an event occurs. The IFC’s Iowa Flood Information System (IFIS) is a Google Maps-based web platform that provides emergency responders, decision-makers, community leaders, home- and business-owners, and landowners with accessible, real-time flood information.  

Figure 2. An IFC-designed, built, and deployed stream-stage sensor in action.

The IFC’s network of more than 270 stream-stage sensors update river-levels on IFIS every few minutes. The sensors complement the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) stream gages by filling in data gaps to improve flood monitoring and forecasting. The IFC’s network of more than 50 hydrologic weather stations (hydrostations) collect data on precipitation, soil moisture and temperature, and groundwater levels in shallow wells to better predict floods, assess droughts, and manage Iowa’s water resources. The IFC is halfway to its goal of deploying one hydrostation in every county throughout Iowa to enhance the state’s ability to plan, prepare, and respond to hazardous extreme weather events.  

IFIS harvests data provided by the USGS, National Weather Service (NWS), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), and other groups, making Iowa home to one of the densest flood-risk data networks in the country. Data collected are uploaded to IFIS about every 15 minutes, where they are displayed for users to easily understand, interpret, and apply to mitigate real-life flood impacts. Since its creation, the system has had over 4 million pageviews from users looking for reliable flood information, with thousands more users accessing the system every day. 

Figure 3. Cedar Rapids flood inundation maps.

During the 2008 floods, communities lacked the context needed to relate NWS forecasted river stages to their own property and to understand the extent and depth of predicted floodwaters. IFC has developed libraries of flood inundation maps for dozens of Iowa communities that translate forecasted river stages into high-resolution, interactive, scenario-based maps that are used for planning and decision-making in advance of a flood. 

Through a collaborative partnership between the IFC and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, flood map products were developed for all 99 counties in Iowa. Maps show the 2-, 5-, 10-, 25-, 50-, 100-, 200-, and 500-year floodplain boundaries. The maps provide critical information to evaluate flood risks and support decision-making, though are considered non-regulatory. Maps that have completed review and become regulatory should be accessed through FEMA’s Flood Map Service Center. 

A Watershed Approach  

Figure 4. Albert Wetland in the Middle Cedar River Watershed constructed through the IWA project.

The IFC’s advanced technical capabilities have been leveraged to support watershed management efforts statewide through the Iowa Watershed Approach (IWA)—a program that has brought more than $100 million to the state of Iowa, funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The IWA is an adaptive framework for integrated water resource management focused on developing innovative strategies to reducing flooding, improve water quality, and increase community resilience.  

Following the creation of watershed management authorities (WMAs) by Iowa lawmakers in 2010, the program emphasized working closely with WMA’s made up of city, county, and local soil and water conservation district representatives to empower them with science-based information to develop long-term watershed management goals and guide strategic conservation practice implementation efforts. Through the program, more than $40 million was invested in conservation practices like ponds, wetlands, and terraces, and more than 700 targeted practices were built in select watersheds across Iowa. The program ended in December 2022 and was a collaboration among many partners and stakeholders who contributed to its success. The IFC continues to stay engaged in watershed management efforts across the state.  

Improving Flash Flood Forecasting 

Figure 5. June 2024 rainfall over Northwest Iowa shown on IFIS.

In the past 16 years since the flood center’s establishment, the state of Iowa has been impacted by eight significant flood-related disasters. The most recent June 2024 flood event devastated communities in Northwest Iowa after the region received intense rainfall between 10 to 15 inches amidst a three-year drought. The record-breaking flooding damaged more than 5,100 homes and businesses in Spencer, Iowa, and hundreds of people were evacuated by boat.  

New research shows that Iowa has become a hotspot for mesoscale convective storms that are a precursor for flash floods such as the event that was experienced in Northwest Iowa last summer. Research being led by the Iowa Flood Center is working to improve flash flood predictions by studying the characteristics of rainstorms to identify their different types, when and where they occur, and how they move. By integrating this information into predictive computer models, this research aims to improve the accuracy of precipitation forecasts, providing earlier and more reliable flood information for communities at risk.  

Education and Outreach  

Figure 6. Iowa Water Conference attendees visit an IFC hydrostation in Johnson County.

Students, staff, and researchers are dedicated to ensuring IFC’s resources and tools are easily accessible and tailored to meet the needs of diverse audiences, ranging from K-12 students, emergency managers, state agencies, policymakers, and private citizens. Outreach activities include dozens of STEM festivals, conference exhibits and presentations, public meetings and demonstrations, and hosting visitors and stakeholder exchanges. To contact us or for more information, visit iowafloodcenter.uiowa.edu.   

Breanna Shea develops and implements communications and outreach programs for Iowa Flood Center projects. This includes serving as an effective and knowledgeable liaison between the Iowa Flood Center staff and external stakeholders, including agency personnel, policy-makers, community leaders, and the general public.