of course we're keeping a close eye on the newbo neighborhood tonight.it's become a a lot of people see that area as a place to city market and a place to go to restaurants. the entrepreneurial community is unbelievable. we are down there. he is in the heart of it to show us really the calm before the crest. matt. >> reporter: that's for sure, scott. for the last 48 hours, we have had sand bagging going on right here, nonstop. filling bags for two days straight all the way around the clock as you mentioned. those operations now shut down.

earlier today, but take a look at what was going on right up until that moment. boy, the guys from the college and the women from the college showed up in force to fill thousands of sandbags as people came to load up and protect their houses all around the community. some of the volunteers lost homes to flooding eight years ago. this woman showed up with her truck to check around town. >> i happened to have a truck, so i thought i'd help out to haul bags wherever they tell me to go. >> reporter: you've been going place to place. >> absolutely. to see whoever needs the most help is where we're going. >> i felt helpless in 2008. i could barely help myself. now i'm able to help others. >> reporter: the marketplace shut down, bagged up. business owners reminding us that the water levels may be

but they say it could be so much longer than that before they get everything back online and can get the doors open. they'll be happy to be back in with the doors open by halloween. covering the corridor, cbs news. cbs 2 news anchor joins us now >> i've been in the evacuation flood zone area all day. i've never seen anything like it. right now i'm on 13th street and h avenue right on the edge of the evacuation zone of the most people are in their homes, not a lot of sand bagging seen

in, closer to the river, more and more. right here is the edge, like i said, we have a road closure sign. and it gets further away to the evacuation. i expected to see a lot of panic and chaos and fear because of this looming flood. that's not what i saw. what i saw was team work and caring and a lot of selflessness and just very, very calm. and, of course, the calm was here because this isn't everyone's first rodeo. there are a lot of people that have now this home that you're seeing right here is owned by the mckays. they evacuated this same home back in the 2008 floods. since then, they have actually had to gut the whole house and they redid the whole thing inside, by hand, which is making this evacuation so much more painful. but they say that they are thankful because this time they at least had days to prepare rather than last time they only

>> we're belter prepared now and we -- better prepared now and we decided no matter what, we were taking everything this time. we were not putting anything upstairs, it was all coming out. >> they are staying with their family right now and they're really hoping this time they can come back to their home in maybe a matter of weeks rather than a matter of months and that they hopefully don't have to redo anything this time because they hope their home is prepared now. again, the evacuations from here on back of voluntary, not mandatory, but they are highly recommended by city officials. there is a curfew in place until 7 a.m. officers are patrolling around to make sure no one is here that doesn't need to be here. if you do need to come back to the area you have evacuated, make sure you have your id to prove you do live here and are supposed to be here. make sure you grab essentials,

paperwork and your pets. covering the corridor live in cedar rapids, cbs 2 news. thankfully there are now two red cross shelters open in cedar rapids that people can go. you can go to st. paul's united methodist church on third avenue southeast. there's also one open at cedar hills community church. we are at the cedar hills shelter tonight. >> well, scott, right now it is li ten minutes. so right behind knee this room as comfortable as possible. we're in the common area of prepare for what's next in the next few days. they don't know, it's pretty much the unknown for them. if you're looking for a place to stay, there is plenty of room. we were told by red cross this whole area is open. there are hundreds of people that are expected to be flowing in within the next few days. there are a few things you

shelter, first, if you have any medications, you are asked to bring those medications with you. dietary needs, you are asked to have those with you as well, so you can take care of yourself and the staff knows exactly what you need. they are asking for proof of residence to make sure that you are legitimately needing a place to stay. they are open 24 hours. if you're looking for a place to stay right now, they will take you in and they have open arms, so they're ready for you if you need to do that. we also talked to a woman earlier today who now, but said before she couldn't get very much rest because this is her first time in a shelter and she has not experienced a flood like this. she says right now the general ross it of the red cross volunteers and the people here that have given food, their time and love for her and her family has been overwhelming. that's kind of what we're seeing here is the general ross it of people and donations of food coming in and everything

city. so from the red cross volunteers and the people here, they want to say thank you. for now, we are in cedar rapids. we'll send it back to you guys in the sued -- in the studio. cedar rapids carpenter's union local 308 showed up at the paramount theater with power tools to take apart the nearly 100 seats on the first level. then a small army of volunteers streamed in to carry those seats to higher local 3308 says they take -- 308 says they take pride in what they helped build. >> absolutely. this is our community. we were devastated after the 2008 floods, so we want to take pride in our community and help out wherever we can. >> local 3308 has been -- 308 has been teaming up the last couple of days to help family members pack up their homes and save possessions before the flooding begins.

people having a good time listening to the great musicians we have in this community. well, they took out all the tables and seating so they could keep everything dry before the water comes in. the owners say, you know, they lost a lot back in 2008, so this time they didn't want to take nip chances -- take any chances. people here evacuated their homes today. if you live here, i'm s you've heard you're not allowed to drink the water there. there is bottled water that's available at city hall if you need it. evacuations and sand backing efforts, we hone hope this community doesn't have to go -- we hope this community doesn't have to go through what they want through in 2008. it was devastating for them. he want to talk to the chief meteorologist to find out where the predictions are this morning. >> before we get to that, i want to take a look at this satellite.

not a cloud in the sky. that's good news. it means the forecast is going to be dry and sunny and that will help as we prepare for the crests we are headed our way. we will have the latest

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you know what they used to do to guys like that? they'd be carried out in a stretcher, folks. i could stand in the middle of 5th avenue and shoot somebody and i wouldn't lose any voters. priorities usa action is responsible for the content of this advertising. we'll be keeping an eye on the rising water levels all weekend long so monday on cbs 2 this morning. morning.join us for the most up to date information about how to stay safe hours before

there are similarities to this flood and the 2008 flood - you know, there are similarities to this flood and

with the major flooding expected in parts of cedar rapids and beyone, help is coming from the iowa national g. guard.cbs 2 news anchor matt hammill joins us live from the newbo district with the latest informationmatt? ??????????????????? areas like this are empt that always makes people apprehensive - about the safety of their homes - - and businesses - - and their homes - - and businesses - - but starting tomorrow - four hundred national guard troops will be here to help. today - scores of

sandbags - and then take those bags to protect - homes and businesses all over the city.but - by tomorrow - - a lot of those volunteers are heading back to work or school.that's when the guard will step in - especially - in areas where the water is rising fast. verbatim. (( 10:21:02 )) ... part of that mission will be working at evacuation control points just to kind of help things moving smoothly for people who need to evacuate certain areas 10:21:18 )) .. they'll be on the ground and ready to do the mission sometime early tomorrow afternoon. " "colonel - happ - good says the guard is also bringing special equipment in case it's needed.we'll tell you more about that - later in this newscast.covering the corridor in ???????????? matt hammill cbs 2 news. local first responders are now stationed on both sides of the river. crews says there are police and firefighters ready with

since all bridges are closed i-380 will be the only way for first responders to get to emergency calls. and some 380 exits are closed for emergency and construction crews only. so if you're driving along 380 they're asking people to be patient. and allow more travel time. "that's what we're here for, we're here to help people. and we have a mission to not only respond to the flood event but to help our citizenry that aren't directly impacted in the flood evacaution zone as we" well." designated emergency car lane on i-380 during the flood back in 2008. right now there isn't one, but city officials say they will make plans if needed. if you or someone you know is looking for a place to stay after being evacuated -- the red cross now has two shelters set up and running in cedar rap. rapids.cbs 2 news reporter dora miller is at one of the churches welcoming

this isn't easy for families who have left their homes, not sure what they're coming back to...it's something none of us absolutely a -- that is absolutely a positively. if they become overflowing here, they are prepared to do that. they said do not worry, if hundreds of people need a place to stay, they will provide hundreds of cots for them. right now community church where there are about 80 people between st. paul's and here that have been seeking shelter and right now it's bedtime for them, but earlier today, they were up and running around. tom some things they were able to do is some of these games over here they have. they're making sure that everybody is happy and making sure that the kids are smiling and just taking away from some of the uncertainty that they might be facing right now. they also had a lot of generous donationings as far as food --

was donated by the generous people in the community. so they have been overwhelmed with the feeling of graham gratitude and the failing of love this they've received from -- love that they've received from people in the community. if you're interested in giving, there are a few housekeeping items we have to talk b-there is a schedule, a breakfast, lunch and dinner time. breakfast at 7, lunch at noon, dinner at 6. they're asking if you want to donate food, that you call ahead and go by the schedule. if you want to offer something for dinner, you call make sure that the meal is prepackaged so that you are making it as safe as possible for the people here. they don't want to waste food, so they are asking that you do call ahead just for a purpose of the and they also appreciate baked goods, but right now they're looking for prepackaged foods because they want to make sure that everybody is as safe as possible. as you can see, it's lights out time as i mentioned before.

in the studio. we hope they all get a good night's sleep. in the meantime, this college is offering its facility to licensed stillist professionals displaced during the flood -- stylist professionals displaced during the flood. you are invited to use space here for three. any other professional stylist will have a home with a salon there are wax rooms and private massage areas. the only request they have is that you are a licensed professional. >> we will do whatever we can to make sure that everyone has a place to meet their clients and see their clients because sometimes just seeing our favorite ladies that come in every week puts a smile on our face. >> they say they will stay open as long as stylists need the space. both locations will start accepting stylists immediately. cbs 2 and fox 28 news

impact of flood 2016 all day. this is footage of flooding in cedar rapids. it's been on the rise all day long. right now, we just got an update, it is over 16 feet as we speak and that is major flood stage. cbs 2 news will be back in two

we upped the ante at culver's to create the new crispy southwest chicken sandwich. all-natural, whole white meat chicken breast. topped with spicy pepper jack cheese and jalape?o ranch. on a lightly buttered, toasted ciabatta roll. ng to be creamy and mild, and it's really going to tone down the spiciness of the peppers. you're going to taste the cheese first, and then you're going to get just a little bit of warmth from the peppers. it's really good. a bold new flavor and only here for a limited time. mmmhmm.

just about an hour ago cedar rapids mayor ron corbet was in just about an hour ago, the mayor was here in the studio to discuss where things happen right now. >> i wanted to talk about the value untear evacuations -- the voluntary evacuations that were underway now. people were supposed to' val vac wait by 8:00 -- to evacuate

evacuation? >> it's important from a safety standpoint. their safety, but also potentially putting at risk firefighters and emergency personnel in the event that they would have to rescue someone. if you're watching this at home right now and you're sit anything your living room in an inundated area, i plead with you to go grab your suitcase or your duffel bag, put some clothes in it, medication maybe some toiletries and please just move out. we believe everybody can have access to their place on saturday. please do this. we've built this levee system to prevent flooding on all sides of the river and we're working with the corporation of engineers on that, but there's also the possibility these temporary systems could breach. that's our biggest concern right now.

but when have a breach in the levee that's holding back 23 feet of water and there's a breach, that comes gushing out and that's a concern and one of the reasons we ask people to please respect the evacuation order and move out. >> coupling the evacuation order is the curfew that is now in effect until 7 a.m. what's the purpose of the curfew, mayor? >> well, a lot of people have pasted a lot of pictures on social me protection system that's been built in the last 72 hours. it's an amazing effort by the workers and the community, but it's not a tourist site. it is a flood protection system. and we don't need people walking, we don't need people riding their bicycles, motorcycles or cars. this is not an area we want you to be in. so please respect that

for safety. so as tempting as it may be to want to come down and look at twe ask you not to do that. tomorrow when people are going to work, there will be some traffic challenges with only wilson avenue and 7th open and it's tempting to drive on 380 and look over your shoulder at the river and then you slow down. it's a difficult section of the road anyway as it is, the s curve, so please use caution in the morning and -- because there will be more traffic on of the exit ramps that are closed. >> we've been reporting on the national guard that will be coming to cedar rapids, several hundred national guard members as well as state troopers to assist in security. is that what they're coming primarily for is to secure the area, the perimeter around the' vann vac -- the evacuation?