SPENCER, Iowa — Iowa is seeing record levels of flooding, as 22 counties in northwest Iowa have seen around 15" of rain.
"I can tell you the devastation is severe, and it's widespread," said Gov. Kim Reynolds, in a press conference Sunday afternoon.
The river levels have reached several feet over previous record flooding levels, which has led to 250 water rescues. Sixteen different flood gauges in the state are seeing those historic levels.
The Mondor family, from Athon, Iowa, went to rescue one of their family members, but the rescue mission turned much larger. The Mondors ended up rescuing nearly 30 people on their boat in Spencer, Iowa.
"Anxious, a lot of tears, worried where they were gonna go and where they were gonna stay," said Ashley and Anthony Mondor and Aaron Kollbaum. "I guess more than anything, it was hard for them to just walk away."
Around 1,900 properties saw impact from the floods, including Spencer resident Bailey Mower.
"It was not bad at all, it was just like a little bit on the roads, and then literally within an hour our whole driveway was completely flooded, so it was rising, very quickly," Mower said.
Over 100 homes were destroyed, and more than 1,000 Iowans were sheltered in place.
"It was pretty terrifying, seeing the babies come out of houses, just not something I ever want to see again," Anthony Mondor said.
Reynolds anticipates adding more counties to the disaster proclamation.
"Businesses are shuttered, main streets have been impacted, hospitals, nursing homes, and other care facilities were evacuated, cities are without power and some are without drinkable water," she said.
The City of Spencer provided an update Sunday morning, saying its entire sewer system is down and travel within the town is not advised, unless it is urgent.
The city added that the power is off in part of town, however, crews are actively working to restore it.