Rains spur massive Iowa flooding

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Heavy rains spur massive Iowa flooding, July 2010.

A town divided: Bystanders watch the water rise on Saturday, July 24, 2010, after the Maquoketa River flooded downtown Manchester, Iowa, due to heavy rainfall spanning the past 48 hours.

The flooding in Manchester happened after the Lake Delhi dam (above) failed Saturday as rising floodwater from the Maquoketa River ate a 30-foot-wide hole in it. Areas below the eastern Iowa dam, including Hopkinton and Monticello, were evacuated.

Back in Manchester, Austin Cabalka, 14, rests on sandbags outside his father's downtown auto parts store Saturday.

Patsy Rounds stands near her home in the Freddy's Beach area of Lake Delhi as flood water continues to creep up to her first floor July 24, 2010. The Maquoketa River, which flows to form Lake Delhi, has yet to reach crest, which is predicted to be record-breaking.

Kenny Lewis, of Manchester, carries photos out of his mother-in-law's home in the Freddy's Beach area of Lake Delhi.

Ryan Halbur takes pictures from the 1st Street bridge in downtown Independence. Halbur's own house near the river had taken on water in the basement overnight.

Water pours over the dam and in and out of the windows of the historic Independence Mill in downtown Independence, Iowa, as the Wapsipinicon River rose Saturday, July 24.

Sandbags surround the Dairy Queen along 3rd Avenue SE in Independence. Many flood-prone areas of town had prepared over the past two days for the water's rise.

The Maquoketa River covers the roadway in Hopkinton, Iowa.

Far-reaching effects: Inbound traffic on the Kennedy Expressway is diverted because of flooding at the Hubbard St. tunnel Saturday, July 24, 2010 in Chicago. Standing water on Chicago-area expressways turned what should have been an easy Saturday morning drive into a soggy, snarled mess after heavy rains across the Midwest closed roads, stranded residents and punched a hole through an Iowa dam.

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A town divided: Bystanders watch the water rise on Saturday, July 24, 2010, after the Maquoketa River flooded downtown Manchester, Iowa, due to heavy rainfall spanning the past 48 hours.

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