Central Iowa Flood Update

A day after record-setting floods in parts of central Iowa, water is receding in several locations.

In Ames, the high water there is beginning to drop after slashing records Wednesday. The Skunk River crested at 26.7 feet. That's more than what the area saw in the floods of 1993.

The good news in Ames is that the water is receding. As of Wednesday night, Squaw Creek was at 14.7 feet after cresting at just over 18 feet. As of Thursday morning, it's down another foot to around 13.8 feet.

Residents in Ames, more than 56,500 people, were told Wednesday afternoon that they must boil their water before using it or use bottled water. The city's water system is considered contaminated after a water main break.

Trooper Doug Cutts told KCCI that one eastbound lane of Highway 30 is now open in Ames. He also said Interstate 35 is still closed, but crews hope to have it open again by noon. Highway 210 is still closed and Highway 69 is open once again.

Residents living in 145 apartments, 82 trailer homes, and 50 homes in Des Moines were evacuated Wednesday.

Four Mile Creek is down significantly after flooding homes and streets Wednesday.

City officials are urging other residents affected by water to get help. Residents living in 145 apartments, 82 trailer homes, and 50 homes in Des Moines were evacuated Wednesday.

Four Mile Creek is down significantly after flooding homes and streets Wednesday.

City officials are urging other residents affected by water to get help.

Residents forced to evacuate can take shelter at Hiatt Middle School. That's at 1214 East 15th Street in Des Moines.

Tropical Depression in Gulf

A tropical depression in the Gulf of Mexico is expected to strengthen into a tropical storm named Danielle as it moves toward the site of the oil spill off Louisiana's coast.

The depression had maximum sustained winds near 35 mph early Wednesday but is expected to reach tropical storm strength of 39 mph later in the day or Wednesday night.

Tropical Storm warnings have been issued.

BP and Coast Guard officials have halted drilling on a relief well intended to permanently plug the blown-out oil well in the Gulf.

The JetBlue Flight Attendant is now Famous

He lost his temper as a JetBlue flight landed in New York.  He yelled with profanity over the plane's PA system, he then grabbed two beers and slid down the emergency slide on to the tarmac. 

He was later arrested and charged, but now he is becoming a bit of a hero to working-class people.  He's been spotted all over the internet, on news shows, and programs like TMZ.

What's next for Steven Slater?  The talkshow circuit, a reality show, or maybe Dancing With the Stars.  If he wants to go and see if he can keep his temper in check maybe he should try Dr. Drew on Celebrity Rehab.

It seems like we haven't seen the last of this JetBlue flight attendant.  And he may provide a career boost for Ian Ziering, as he could easily play Slater in a movie about the infamous flight from Pittsburgh.

2 Different Alaska Plane Crashes

One was a plane carrying nine people, it crashed amid southwest Alaska's remote mountains and lakes, killing five people on board and injuring at least three others, authorities said Tuesday. Former Sen. Ted Stevens and ex-NASA chief Sean O'Keefe were believed to be aboard.

It was unclear if the longtime Republican senator and O'Keefe were among the dead.

The other was a plane of sightseers that crased on a glacier.  A four-man rescue squad found the five people on board the plane in good condition on Knik Glacier, roughly 40 miles northeast of Anchorage.

There were only a couple of minor injuries among the Alaskan pilot and four visitors from Texas, Maj. Guy Hayes said, adding he did not have names or hometowns.

The Anchorage Daily News identified the pilot as Donald Erbey, 49.

Floods Devastating Asia

 

In China, hundreds have died and more than 1,100 were missing Monday from landslides caused by heavy rain that has flooded swaths of Asia and spread misery to millions.

In Pakistan, the United Nations said the government's estimate of 13.8 million people affected by the country's worst-ever floods exceeded the combined total of three recent megadisasters - the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake and the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

Rescuers in mountainous Indian-controlled Kashmir raced to rescue dozens of stranded foreign trekkers and find 500 people still missing in flash floods that have killed 140.

The Chinese death toll jumped to 337 late Monday after Sunday's landslides in the northwestern province of Gansu - the deadliest incident so far in the country's worst flooding in a decade. A debris-blocked swollen river burst, swamping entire mountain villages in the county seat of Zhouqu and ripping homes from their foundations.

More rain is expected in the region over the next three days, the China Meteorological Administration said. On Monday evening, clouds were building ominously over the mountains where the mud started flowing.

"We were dumbfounded by the enormity of the flood situation when we got to the scene," said Chen Junfeng, a disinfection specialist whose army battalion was the first on the scene Sunday.

Photos showed wrapped bodies tied to sticks or placed on planks and left on the shattered streets for pickup. APTN footage showed workers lifting an empty coffin. In many parts of rural China, coffins are bought as insurance for old age.