The Iowa City Press-Citizen chronicled the birth of the Iowa Flood Center as a result of the 2008 devastating flood on the Iowa River.

The Iowa Flood Center was started with a proposal from by hydrologists at the University of Iowa like Witold Krajewski, professor of civil and environmental engineering and director of the center, who watched the 2008 flood unfold with frustration.

Krajewski said his and his colleagues’ careers were spent researching fluid mechanics, though much of the work was done outside of if Iowa. When the flooding began, the severity of it took them by surprise.

Krajewski and Larry Weber, executive associate dean at the UI College of Engineering, began advocating resources to better predict and mitigate flooding soon after the water receded. 

The concept was new at the time, but caught on quickly. 

To read more about the Iowa Flood Center in the Press-Citizen account, go to https://www.press-citizen.com/story/news/education/university-of-iowa/2018/06/11/university-iowa-researchers-revolutionized-flood-response-2008-flood/630691002/