Even As Neb. Honors Fallen Scouts, Floods Pound Iowa

Hospital evacuated in downtown Cedar Rapids, where 100 blocks are submerged
By Jonas Oransky,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 13, 2008 2:40 PM CDT
Even As Neb. Honors Fallen Scouts, Floods Pound Iowa
A child's toy is seen floating in flood water Friday, June 13, 2008, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.    (AP Photo)

“We have to make sure people remember," said a 13-year-old who pulled a dead fellow Boy Scout out of the rubble left by Wednesday's fatal tornado. Last night's vigil in Omaha, Neb., was among several for the four teens killed in the Iowa maelstrom; “This is probably the worst day of my life,” the leader of the group’s Mid-America Council told the World-Herald.

Meanwhile, Iowa's governor declared a state of emergency in 83 of 99 counties, USA Today reports; nine rivers were at historic flood levels. Cedar Rapids was the hardest-hit town, as a downtown hospital was evacuated. The Mississippi River is expected to crest at 30 feet by the middle next week, and, downriver, Missouri is bracing for disaster. (More Boy Scouts of America stories.)

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