In Eastern Iowa, the City That ‘Would Never Flood’ Goes 12 Feet Under

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — They said this city would never flood. They talked about 1993, and 1966 and 1851, years when the Cedar River swelled and hissed but mostly stayed within its banks. They thought they were safe. They were wrong.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/13/us/13flood.html?ref=us