As torrential rainfalls continue to pummel cities and towns across the Midwest, river levels are continuing to rise. The situation in some places has gotten so bad that wide-scale evacuation efforts are now underway in many urban areas, including the Iowa State capital, Des Moines.

Officials are digging deep into the community’s disaster preparedness guides to help limit the damage from the deluge. Today’s order was to clear the entirety of the area within the city’s 500-year flood plan. The Des Moines river is expected to crest nearly 12 feet above the mark it set in the 1993 floods.  

While many have been a bit hesitant to connect the flooding to global warming, I think the words of Des Moines resident Mark Dulitz spell things out pretty clearly: "It seems like we're having the hundred-year flood every four years. It's absurd."