Eleven months after the devastating floods in Iowa, homeowners, volunteers, and community members welcomed a team of New England volunteers to assist with rebuilding in the Cedar Rapids area. These are the stories those volunteers encountered.
The Homeowner
“The water will only reach the curb,” officials told homeowners in Palo, Iowa in early June 2008 as the Cedar river headed for flood level and rain continued to fall. Curt and his neighbors pledged to stay and save their homes from the rising water. So they armed themselves with generators and pumps, put basement furniture up on blocks and stayed vigilant. The water continued to rise. Forecasts were revised, the Cedar River would crest at 31.1 feet on June 13, 288, over 10 feet above the previous record of 20 feet in 1851 and 1929. At 18.5 feet water affects the lowest residences in Palo.
Vehicles were prohibited from the neighborhood after 8 pm Wednesday. The water kept rising. Early Thursday morning Curt looked out at his dark neighborhood, realized his neighbors had fled and decided it was time for his wife and him to seek safety. The water rushed around his calves as he carried a few belonging to his truck at the end of the street. He quickly returned home, called for his wife to grab the dog and headed out into the now waist deep current swirling through his once tranquil neighborhood. Lightening flashed and the rain pelted down as they anxiously made their way back to their truck and left for higher ground.
In this town of 950 residents northwest of Cedar Rapids all but 1 household evacuated. Residents waited impatiently for the water to recede and to be allowed to return to their neighborhood. Finally, 3 days later on Father’s Day, they were allowed back to see their homes, although it would be months before homes passed occupancy inspections.
Curt and his wife found several inches of muck in their garage, coating everything, and their freezer knocked over and blocking their entry. Between the black water, rotting food, hot June days and a sealed house the stench was overwhelming. The water had reached 22 inches up the first floor cabinets and by Sunday had receded to expose the top step of the basement stairs. Curt looked down into his basement filled to the brim with filthy black water.
With friends, family and co-workers pitching in, they took two days to shovel out the garage and then the real work began. Fans, power washing, shoveling out muck, removing debris continued for days on end. “A king size mattress, waterlogged, weighs more than a car, I tell you,” Curt commented as he retold the story of lugging the mattresses up out of the basement. The power of the water was evident everywhere. His slate topped pool table, which a week prior he had lifted up onto cinder blocks in the basement, was completely flipped over. Clothing, mementos, furniture, appliances, all unsalvageable. A ruined household and no flood insurance.
Even with generous time off granted by his employer, Curt and his wife with help from friends and family could only chip away at rebuilding their home. The pace slowed, but work continued until finally, 109 days after evacuating, they returned to live in their home again. The basement remained unfinished, stripped and cleaned down to the studs. Their family had traditionally hosted extended family for Thanksgiving and Christmas and everyone would retreat to the finished basement for pool, TV and games after their holiday dinner. Holidays in 2008 wouldn’t be the same without the basement space. The rebuilding would stretch far into 2009.
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