CEDAR FALLS - Monday marked a day of waiting, watching and preparing for the worst in Cedar Falls.

Dan Hughes spent the morning moving belongings out of the basement of his rental home at 2025 Central Ave. He spent the afternoon bow fishing for carp in his backyard.

He bagged one such target Monday and expected fishing to be good.

"The more it comes up, the more they will be up here feeding, but the more work I will have to do," Hughes said with a shrug.

The city is bracing for a record flood, expecting the downtown flood levee will hold back the raging Cedar River, while preparing for widespread flooding in North Cedar.

As of Monday night, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration projected a crest of 100 feet for the Cedar River in Cedar Falls. That mark would be nearly 4 feet above the record flood in 1999 of 96.2 feet. As a comparison, the 1999 flood topped the previous record by only .1 foot, and all of the top 10 floods in Cedar Falls have been in the 94- to 96-foot range.

Community Main Street Director Kelly Vowels said the flood levee, which was completed just as the 1999 record flood happened, is expected to hold.

"At this point in time the levee should hold and do its job," Vowels said.

City Engineer Ron Gaines said with the expected crest the Cedar River would come within 3 feet of the top of the levee.

"At this point everything on this side (downtown) of the levee looks to be in good shape," said Police Chief Jeff Olson.

Cedar Falls police will have a boat patrolling flooded areas to guard against looting.

A train with fully loaded cars was parked on the railroad bridge near downtown to provide additional support for the bridge. A small army of volunteers helped sandbag the Ice House museum Monday morning in hopes of saving that riverside attraction.

The city has established a emergency operations center in the city council conference room at City Hall. A special phone line, 243-2700, will be answered 24 hours a day to answer flooding questions.

Gov. Chet Culver made yet another stop in Northeast Iowa to view the destruction. He was here two weeks ago during the Parkersburg tornado.

"It's obviously a state challenge, what we're dealing with," Culver told reporters inside a makeshift shelter at the West Gym on the University of Northern Iowa's campus. "But we wanted to get here today and lend our support and thank the volunteers."

Cedar Falls has recommended people living in flood prone areas north of the river to evacuate.

More than 200 stayed at the West Gym shelter Sunday night.

A number of roads have been closed because of flooding in Cedar Falls. Around 1 p.m. Monday the Iowa Department of Transportation took measures to close the southbound Highway 218 exit ramp onto Highway 57, as water had crossed the road. Waterloo Road near Cedar Falls Utilities was also closed, as were a number of low lying roads in North Cedar.

Cedar Falls Utilities just completed a flood control project last fall. More concrete flood walls were added, as were temporary rubber bladders that are filled with water and backed by sand to keep water out. The utility company expects to keep water out of the power plant and main office building.

"This is exactly what we planned for with the flood wall project," said CFU spokesperson Betty Zeman.

John Christensen's home at Sumac Avenue and Clair Street in North Cedar normally rests some 400 yards from Snag Creek. About noon Monday, water ran through his backyard and was lapping at the concrete pad behind his home.

He had already moved his lawn tractor and his boat up onto higher ground and hoped he wouldn't have to move them farther. As the projected Cedar River crest increased Monday from 99.2 feet to 100 feet, that was far from a certainty.

"If it goes, it goes, what the hell can you do?" Christensen said.

Christensen has survived all the major floods, from the 1960s to 1993 and 1999. He was surprised at how fast the water came up this time. He hopes he won't be surprised at how high it goes.

On Monday a steady stream of traffic flowed up and down Center Street in Cedar Falls. Gawkers stopped alongside the road to take photographs of flooded businesses and Island Park. Heavy machinery pulled into a business lot to build a temporary dike around one business. Fire and police cruised up and back, talking to homeowners about what to expect.

Downtown merchants, for the most part, went about business as usual. Several businesses had spent Sunday pumping water out of their basements.

Marty Wurth, office manager at Sealed with a Kiss on Main Street, had water in his basement both at home and at work.

"It was a rough weekend," he said. Businesses on either side of SWAK had sewer backups as well as ground water in their basements.

Caboose Stop Hobbies had six to eight inches of water in the basement, slightly lower than what they had after a late April deluge. Owner Merlyn Lauber and some helpers were moving some inventory to Waterloo to keep it safe. They were even preparing for the possibility of the levee failing.

"We hope we don't get water up on the main floor, but we're getting prepared in case it does," Lauber said.

Staff Writer Amie Steffen contributed to this article.

Contact Jon Ericson at (319) 291-1461 or jonathan.ericson@wcfcourier.com.