OTHO, Iowa — The National Weather Service reported seven inches of rain fell in Otho overnight. People in nearby Kalo, and the town of Otho, said they had never seen that amount of rain fall in their communities.
“This is the worst it’s ever seen, I’ve lived here for 50 some years it’s the worst I’ve ever seen it,” said Norma Birnbaum of Otho. “You walked out and it was like in a lake.”
In Otho, basements were flooded and early Sunday morning many homes were surrounded by water. By mid-morning, the water had receded, leaving big puddles and flooded basements.
Sump pumps were working over time to keep a few basements dry and suck water from others.
Many had rain gauges, but were unsure how much rain fell after the gauge tubes maxed out and were dumped.
“We register 5.5 inches on our gauge,” said Gould Montgomery, of Kalo. “It was full we had five and a half anyway.”