The roads on either side of the dam -- which were part of the cement dam's containment measures -- apparently gave out as a result of the rainfall. Video showed massive amounts of water violently gushing from the pool behind the dam into the Maquoketa River below. Nearby homes and buildings were under water up to their eaves.
At least half a dozen homes were swept away in the flood, according to a Delhi firefighter, Dennis Wilson. “There’s so much turbulence that it washes the soil away from under it, and the houses go with it,” he said. “We’ve never seen anything this wild.”
Some pictures of the flooding caused by the broken dam:
Iowa Governor Chet Culver said Saturday night the immediate danger near Lake Delhi had passed.
Culver praised the quick action of emergency personnel in response to the dam break which sent water downstream from the Maquoketa River into the streets of Hopkinton and Monticello.