The wall was built to keep water from the Mississippi River out of the city during high water levels.

This is only the third time the gates have been closed since they were installed in 1973. In Dubuque, Iowa, officials have closed all of its floodgates along the Mississippi “and are operating several pumping stations 24/7 to convey water over the floodwall and into the river,” the city said in a video explainer released Wednesday. Fcnynyw2S7- NWS Quad Cities April 24, 2023 Here is the current forecast for potential crest heights on the Mississippi River along with a flood category forecast through April 30. “We’re fully engaged, so we’ll see where Mother Nature and the Mississippi decides to go.” “We’ve used the lessons learned and the forensic analysis that the (US Army) Corps of Engineers gave us to set the barriers and set the pumps, and we have public works people doing 24/7 shifts,” Matson said. Several gauges to the north, near Dubuque, Iowa, also are forecast early next week to reach their third-highest crest ever, behind 1965 and the river floods in 2001, the local weather service office said. Near Davenport, the Mississippi River is already at major flood stage, topping 19 feet with perhaps another 1 to 2 feet to go by early next week – which would be just a foot shy of that all-time record. But it doesn’t really matter for us because we fight the river.” “Whether it’s a record crest or close to a record, there’s not definitive answers yet. “We’re expecting a pretty good crest in a week,” Matson said Tuesday. Several roads are already closed as flooding threatens towns all along the Mississippi. Some homes and businesses along Davenport, Iowa’s riverfront already have taken on water, and the worst is yet to come, Mayor Mike Matson told CNN earlier this week. Purple dots indicate which river gauges will be at major flood stage in the coming days.

Jennifer gray meteorologist