As someone who lived through the second costliest natural disaster in the country after Hurricane Katrina - the Iowa floods of 2008 - I can say that the reason why no lives were lost here is that for the most part people followed the mandatory evacuations when they were issued. 20,000 people were displaced in Cedar Rapids and the evacuation was surprisingly smooth. (I was not personally affected, my parents home was not affected and I live in another community that was flooded but my home is a mile from the water.) But both our communities were hard hit.

Provisions were made by the city for pets from evacuated homes. Kennels were provided in a safe place far from the water. The few people who did need to be rescued were mostly because they were afraid they wouldn't be allowed to take pets with them. The rescues performed were surprisingly dangerous because of the swift current of the river and the fact that the flood water was seriously contaminated by farm chemicals from flooded farmland up river and the fact that the Cedar Rapids sewage treatment plant was flooded and raw sewage was going directly into the floodwater because there was no other option.

One of the most moving photos of the flood was from a small town in the path of the flood water with a herd of cows stranded in a small patch of high ground around a house - but the cows did survive.

The closest call my family had personally was that on the day before the bridges were to close, two days before the crest in Cedar Rapids, my parents had my older dog at their house to take to the groomer, as the flood was cresting in my town that day and I wouldn't have been able to get down. All the bridges in town but one were scheduled to close that afternoon, But the water was coming in so much faster than expected that the bridges were closed several hours early. They had a harrowing time getting across the river on the one remaining bridge to pick him up - the traffic was unbelievable and they were driving in water up to their hubcaps. A twenty minute trip took almost two hours, but they got the dog home safely. The next day all the bridges across the river were closed, and I was very relieved. I was without my dog until the water began to go down but at least he was safe with my parents.

So, yes, people need to take those mandatory evacuation orders seriously and move when they are told to move. I'm glad the rules have changed so that pets are accounted for!