Iowa's taking it pretty hard, too

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Rising water from the Cedar River forced the evacuation of a downtown hospital Friday after residents of more than 3,000 homes fled for higher ground. A railroad bridge collapsed, and 400 city blocks were under water.

Four hundred city blocks. Wow.

The hospital's 176 patients, including about 30 patients in a nursing home facility at the hospital, were being evacuated to other hospitals in the region. The evacuation started late Thursday night and continued Friday morning in the city of 124,000 residents.

And:

In Des Moines, 100 miles to the southwest, officials issued a voluntary evacuation order for much of downtown and other areas bordering the Des Moines River.

Some really amazing AP pictures here, including:



And:



Know how you get a picture like that? By running like hell and having your finger accidentally hit the button at exactly the right moment.