CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Officials in Cedar Rapids say an elaborate system of temporary floodwalls is successfully protecting thousands of homes and businesses from floodwaters.

Iowa’s second-largest city said its hastily-erected 9.8-mile system of Hesco barriers and earthen berms was largely holding back the Cedar River, which was cresting Tuesday at its second-highest level in history.

The barriers were invented by British entrepreneur James Heselden, a former coal miner who used them to stop erosion on his property. They were then used by the United Kingdom’s military to replace sandbags that protected soldiers from blasts in Bosnia. The U.S. military later used the barriers extensively in Iraq and Afghanistan.

As of Tuesday morning, city officials said the barriers had prevented most damage but that some buildings and homes near the river will likely have water in their basements.

City workers and contractors worked through the night to pump out water that seeped through the barriers and that came up through the sewer system.

Firefighters and police also rescued a woman who was swept away Monday afternoon by the river.