The governor of Iowa sent helicopters to a small town to evacuate people from flooded homes Saturday, the result of weeks of rain. Sirens blared at 2am in Rock Valley, Iowa, population 4,200, where people in hundreds of homes were told to get out as the Rock River could no longer take rain that has slammed the region. The city lacked running water because wells were unusable, the AP reports. “We’ve got National Guard helicopters coming in where people are on their roofs—literally on their roofs or the second floor because their first floor is completely flooded,” Mayor Kevin Van Otterloo said.

“We’ve had so much rain here,” Otterloo said. “We had four inches last night in an hour and a half time. Our ground just cannot take anymore.” Gov. Kim Reynolds declared a disaster for Sioux County, which includes Rock Valley. Drone video posted by the sheriff showed no streets, just roofs and the tops of trees above water. Elsewhere in Iowa, power was cut off at wastewater treatment plants in Hawarden and Spencer, which together have 14,000 residents. Aiden Engelkes said he and his girlfriend grabbed clothes, cats, and bottled water and left their flooded first-floor apartment in Spencer for a friend’s dry space on the fourth floor. “It’s terrifying,” Engelkes, 20, said, adding that friends across the street were on a roof waiting for help.

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CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – Iowa Govenor Kim Reynolds issued a disaster proclamation for 21 Iowa counties on Saturday.

The proclamation is in response to the storms and flooding the counties received on Friday.

These counties include Buena Vista, Cerro Gordo, Cherokee, Clay, Dickinson, Emmet, Floyd, Hancock, Humboldt, Kossuth, Lyon, O’Brien, Osceola, Plymouth, Pocahontas, Sioux, Webster, Winnebago, Woodbury, Worth, and Wright.

The proclamation opens up certain state resources for disaster recovery, as well as grants of up to $5,000 for households earning up to 200% of the poverty level.

The proclamation was originally issued for Sioux County but was then extended to include the other 20 counties.

Those impacted by the storms have 45 days to file an application here.

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Northwest Iowa — There are flood warnings issued in northwest Iowa as water levels continue to rise. Rock Valley Mayor Kevin Van Otterloo is closely monitoring the Rock River that runs north of town. It reached record levels during devastating flooding ten years ago, and its at those same levels again.

The projection was for a crest at about 23 and a half feet, about a foot higher than the record, but overnight the level was at about 24 and a half feet and still rising.

During the past several years, Rock Valley built berms to protect property and people. Sandbagging is underway not only in Rock Valley but other communities in nearby Lyon and Plymouth counties. Van Otterloo says evacuations have been ordered.

About 1:30 a.m. Saturday morning, Rock Valley officials set off the sirens in Rock Valley, meaning if people were in the evacuation zone to evacuate their houses if able. Upstream at Rock Rapids, emergency crews evacuated several homes in the wee hours of Saturday morning.

The Faith Reformed and Trinity Reformed churches in Rock Valley are serving as a shelter in that community and the Central Lyon Elementary Gym is serving as a shelter in Rock Rapids.