NEWS

Iowa flooding: Relief as some Cedar Rapids residents go home

MacKenzie Elmer
melmer@dmreg.com

CEDAR RAPIDS, Ia. — Gary and Lynn Stansbery lost nearly everything in Cedar Rapids' flood of 2008, including every photo of their children and all but one wedding photo. They left their home Sunday praying to be spared another disaster.

They happily joined thousands of residents and business owners who were permitted Wednesday to return to areas near the flooded Cedar River that had been evacuated earlier this week.

“When I heard we didn’t have a drop of water, I was jumping up and down,” Lynn Stansbery said.

The Iowa National Guard moved barricades overnight to reduce the size of the evacuation area, effectively reopening 2,500 properties in the downtown district and on the western side of the Cedar. The Stansbery home is on Eighth Street N.W., right on the border of the original evacuation zone, which affected properties that would be inundated if the river rose above 24 feet.

The river cleared 31 feet in 2008. On Tuesday, it crested just below 22 feet, with city leaders also crediting temporary protections they erected to guard vulnerable neighborhoods.

Gary Stansbery moves items back into his Cedar Rapids home Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2016.

“I wasn’t going to let it happen again. No way,” Lynn said Wednesday from the stoop of the house her father built.

Cedar Rapids flood is a flop, and thank God for that

The couple cleared every stick of furniture from their home this time before leaving.

Some Cedar Rapids residents are still homeless. A few blocks east of the Stansberys, a two-story sand-filled wall marked an area where evacuations remained in effect Wednesday.

The most frequently asked question city manager Jeff Pomeranz gets: "When can we get back?"

City officials said at a news conference Wednesday morning that it was too soon to fully exhale, but Mayor Ron Corbett compared this year's flooding with the scars of 2008's flood and attributed difference to the city's pride in its recovery.

Lynn Stansbery moves items back into her Cedar Rapids home Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2016.

"In 2008, river vs. city, the river won. We got beat bad. We got skunked. Round 2, the city won," Corbett said. "There’ll be a rematch. I don’t know when it will be; it may be next year, it may be eight years from now, it may not be for several decades. That’s why we need to continue on flood mitigation and flood protection."

Corbett said that means working with landowners north of town on runoff and other issues, and building permanent walls and levees.

FLOOD CLEANUP:

Cedar Rapids is hoping Congress will appropriate $73 million promised in the Water Resource Development Act, said Sandi Fowler, assistant city manager. The permanent flood prevention system would cost $600 million, about half of which the city has been promised by the Iowa Flood Mitigation Board and the rest from various sources, including a city match.

Lynn Stansbery said: “We were both born here. I love our community, but I’m not sure I can stay here if we don’t get a (permanent) barrier. It just drains you. It’s too emotional.”

Police Capt. Steve Konek advised residents who return to other areas that are still part of the evacuation zone do so at their own risk.

"Residents in the 24-foot evacuation zone are still advised not to be there. It’s still dangerous. You still could have hazards we’re not aware of; we strongly recommend you not go there," Konek said.

Police say that those homes don't appear to have any external damage, but there could still be water inside threatening electrical systems. Residents will have to hire a state-certified contractor to assess and fix the damage, Konek said.

The city established a phone line residents can call to verify whether the contractor is state-licensed: 319-286-5929.

City police will be doing drive-by checks on threatened properties but they won’t be knocking down doors unless lives are in danger.

“We learned our lesson in 2008; we're not going to repeat that lesson today," Konek said.

The water is receding slowly but it continues to put pressure on the city, Pomeranz said.

"We expect to hit the critical 18-foot mark on Thursday at approximately 6 p.m.," Pomeranz said. "That's when we will breathe that great sigh of relief, but until that occurs, the city of Cedar Rapids is on the job and working hard."

As of 2 p.m. Wednesday, the river had dropped to 20.1 feet from Monday’s crest of 21.97 feet, according to the National Weather Service. The river is considered flooded at 12 feet.

A lane of Interstate Highway 380 that had been reserved for emergency vehicles reopened to the public Wednesday.

Regular trash service is slated to begin on Monday in the reopened evacuation zone. Residents will be allowed two extra 35-gallon containers for household waste at no cost, but the city is asking that no one use the regular trash to dispose of sandbags, officials said.

More information can be found at the city’s flood-dedicated webpage.

What to do with all this sand?

The city told residents they need keep sandbags on their property for now as they don’t have enough storage space. A contractor is expected to collect them at no cost to residents at a later date.

If citizens can’t wait, they can haul bags to the Cedar Rapids/Linn County Solid Waste Agency on County Home Road. Regular disposal fees will apply for those residents.

Workers remove HESCO barriers that were protecting the Linn County Sheriff's Office in Cedar Rapids on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2016.

Sand from the miles and miles of HESCO barriers built throughout town cannot be reused, said Jen Winter, public works director. But the city is going to do everything they can to keep barrier waste from the landfill.

City councilman Justin Shields said the motocross track at Hawkeye Downs Speedway expressed interest in the leftover sand once barricades are dismantled.

The HESCO barrier system alone cost $1.75 million to build, said Fowler, the assistant city manager. That does not include the labor to construct them, the sand that goes into them nor any of the costs associated with building the earthen berms.

Fowler said the city hasn’t quantified the rest of the costs of the flood.

Iowa flooding sucker-punches harvest

Sigh of relief

Betty Sarduy was elated the city finally gave her the green light to return home.

“It’s a godsend. We prepared for the worst and thank God we didn’t get a drop of nothing,” Sarduy said.

Betty Sarduy, 72, and Michael Fowler, 18, stand in front of their Cedar Rapids home Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2016.

She was recovering from quadruple bypass heart surgery when she and her family packed up and moved into a FEMA trailer during the 2008 flood. This time, she got a room at the Marriott hotel for three nights and had time to store her furniture and pets before the water rose.

“My daughter’s a Muslim and she had the mosque praying for her. My other daughter’s a Baptist out in North Carolina, she was praying for us. And our Christian church up here. So we were covered!” Sarduy said.

The city plans another news conference at 10 a.m. Thursday to provide more flood updates.

Clinton calls about flooding

Hillary Clinton has taken an interest in the recent floods in Iowa, a state legislator confirmed Wednesday night.

The Democratic presidential nominee called Cedar Rapids leaders on Wednesday to discuss the flooding, which prompted evacuations in the city earlier this week, said Sen. Rob Hogg, D-Cedar Rapids.

Clinton asked about flood damage in Cedar Rapids and elsewhere in Iowa as she talked on the phone for about 20 minutes with local leaders and state legislators from Cedar Rapids and Linn County, said Hogg, who has endorsed Clinton for president.

Clinton also had a separate phone conversation Wednesday with Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett, Hogg said. Corbett could not be reached for comment Wednesday night.

Part of Clinton’s concern for Iowa stemmed from the fact that many areas hit by major flooding this year were also severely damaged by flooding in 2008, Hogg said. Part of the conversation focused on whether federal resources could help with future flood protection, he said.

“It really meant a lot to me personally,” Hogg said of the call. “It really meant a lot to know that she cared about Cedar Rapids and about the state.”