Iowa Public Health Officials Urge Caution As Flood Cleanup Begins

State public health officials are seeing more cases of hypothermia this week in parts of the state experiencing historic flooding.That’s not unheard of, officials say, but unique given the state typically doesn’t see overflowing banks until later in the year.Western Iowa and two other states have been slammed this month as snow melt and ice jams caused a number of levees to be breached along the Missouri River, inundating nearby small towns and farms and forcing some to evacuate their homes.The city of Cedar Rapids also took precautions against flood damage when the Cedar River rose to major flood stage this week, closing roads throughout the city that included Bowling Street SW and Edgewood Road NW.As some Iowans in the western part of the state begin returning to their properties to assess damage and salvage what they can, officials from the Iowa Department of Public Health are cautioning residents to take steps to stay healthy.“The health concerns most typically align with cleanup efforts after waters recede,” said Ken Sharp, Department of Public Health division director for acute disease prevention, emergency response and environmental health.But this year, Sharp said they’ve had more reports of the cold floodwater becoming a safety concern.“What’s unique this year, since the flooding started early due to snowpack melting and ice jams, we’ve heard anecdotally of increased reports of hypothermia,” Sharp said.