“This will likely go on record on the second-largest flood in the city's area.\" Jen Winter, public works director of Cedar Rapids, said at the press conference For safety, she said, “no one should be walking, biking, or driving, within this evacuation area.”
The city is preparing for the worst, making preparations for “water rescues and water-based operations,” by staging boats on both sides of the river.
“Waters are rising, so please remember to be safe and stay out of flooded areas,” Fire Chief Mark English said. “Six inches of water can knock you down, two feet of water can sweep your car away,” English said.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/AP_midwest_flooding1_cf_160926_4x3t_384.jpg\")
Tiffany Rushing/The Courier, via AP Photo
PHOTO: Flood waters spread over Highway 218 Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016, in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
The river crested in the town of Vinton at just under 22 feet at 3 a.m. Monday, less than three feet shy of the record in 2008.
Floodwaters invaded streets, inundating homes, businesses, parks, yards and stopped traffic in parts of the town.
\"I think it could have been a lot worse,\" resident Becci Sloan told KCRG, a local ABC affiliate, hours before the river crested. \"There's going to be a lot of trash left over and a lot of wood and debris.\"
Emergency crews stood vigil, preparing for the worst.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/AP_midwest_flooding3_cf_160926_4x3t_384.jpg\")
Brian Powers/The Des Moines Register, via AP Photo
PHOTO: Tom Moffitt stands on his deck as he looks at the flood waters, Sept. 23, 2016, in Shell Rock, Iowa.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/AP_midwest_flooding2_cf_160926_4x3t_384.jpg\")
Brandon Pollock/The Courier, via AP Photo
PHOTO: Volunteers and city workers place sandbags along the dike between the Cedar River and the water treatment plant in Cedar Falls, Iowa, Sept. 24, 2016.
