Iowa Flooding Leaves 36,000 Homeless

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Source: The Huffington Post

Below is a telling excerpt from AP on the chaos caused by the Iowa flooding. Keep reading more about the floods here.

As Iowa City hoped to elude the worst damage, the state had a multi-front battle on its hands. State officials warned of problems ahead for a string of towns in southeast Iowa along the Mississippi River, led by Burlington, a key railroad hub.

"It's likely that we will see major and serious flooding on every part of the southeastern border of our state from New Boston and down," Culver said. "We are taking precautionary steps, we are evacuating where necessary, but that is going to be the next round here."

Early Monday, more than 36,000 residents in 26 communities had been evacuated from their homes, said Kevin Baskins of the state Emergency Operations Center. Most of those _ 25,000 _ were in Cedar Rapids, and another 5,000 in Iowa City, he said.



Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06/16/36-000-homeless-iowans_n_107281.html

[kestrel91316]

1. I hope this doesn't affect my niece's return to Iowa City to finish up her

MFA next year..........I hear the university is majorly flooded.

[bullwinkle428]

7. It depends which part of the campus you're talking about -

the Arts Campus, on the west bank of the river, has sustained some serious flood damage, but many of the other buildings on the east bank were not affected at all as that ground is much higher.

[kestrel91316]

8. She's in the Writer's Workshop, but I imagine that loss of a

particular building doesn't matter much, unlike if she were in chemistry or biology or such. She can do her Brazilian novel translation from her laptop anywhere.

I just hope she didn't have household stuff stored somewhere that got flooded......

[otohara]

2. During Katrina, We Were

driving our son from CO to NY for college. It was interesting to hear what people were saying in each different state and what the news papers were writing.

I heard a lot of "those people" comments, until we got to Iowa.

The newspapers, locals, opinion pages, were all encouraging Iowans to reach out to Katrina victims and welcome them to Iowa. One of the OP's made me cry, it was so heartfelt.

There doesn't seem to be a fierce sense of urgency for Iowa like there was for NOLA.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

3. I think it takes a "36,000 Homeless" headline for it to sink in...

...I don't know what most people are thinking about this. No one that I know has mentioned it to me, even in passing. People pay attention to numbers. Maybe today's headline will engage a few more people who haven't been paying attention.

:patriot:

[Dreamer Tatum]

13. Hope they can pull it all together soon...

...there is nothing worse than being homeless due to floodwaters and mess it leaves behind. I feel for all of those people, and for
those who are STILL displaced because of Katrina. Terrible mess, indeed.

[Frustratedlady]

4. Some of the churches took in NO people, set them up in a house

and found a job for them. It was very touching.

[otohara]

5. Iowans

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :hi: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[silverojo]

10. Nope, there's no fierce sense of urgency

Rich people don't go to Iowa on vacation, therefore Iowa doesn't matter.

However...I am wondering how many Iowa Republicans who verbally pissed on the homeless are feeling the nasty sting of fate coming back to bite them on the butt?

Don't get me wrong--I feel sympathy for all these people. I'm just wondering if it will wake up some of the more unsympathetic Republicans there, so they'll finally understand that homelessness can happen to anybody.

[Acadia Blue]

12. I was without utilities for 6 weeks and people from CA. gave me ice

and food. It was hot, humid and misserable, but I had a house with cross ventilation and tile floors so I was much better off than others.
I just hope we never have it happen again.

[emmadoggy]

6. Happy to be the 5th Rec.

Iowans are a pretty resolute, "do what needs doin'" bunch, but this is a very hard hit for our state. It's going to take a long time to clean up and recover from all this. A lot of folks are going to need serious help.

[progressoid]

9. Well Bush is coming for a visit and fix everything for us.

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080616/NEWS/80616014/-1/LIFE04

[Acadia Blue]

11. Good luck. See what he did for New Orleans? Cut prevailing wages

and sent in contractors who ripped everyone off and made away with our tax dollars.
I am so sorry that you all are enduring the same thing. I saw the pictures and it looks so much like N.O. except a smaller scale.
Flooding is horrible. I had lots of damage but it was wind and tree realted.

For all of those who blamed the people in N.O. for their plight, this is Karma. For those who did not, my heart and prayers go out to you.

[Shoelace]

14. CNN report; people in Cedar Rapids not allowed back in homes yet, pissed off

because they want to get busy with the cleanup and every minute counts.
Reason being one of the city workers got a minor injury so those who thought they could get back into homes yesterday, were suddenly told no.
I'm thinking that isn't the real reason.
Gruesomely enough, when I was in multiple floods in N. Ca., in the '70s, there were many dead critters all over the place, mostly rats, mice, anything underground died.

I'm thinking they lost alot of farm animals as well, are afraid that someone might find a dead cow in their backyard, or worse.
My heart and prayers go out to these brave people who have a mighty work ahead.

Bush's speech about the floods this am was so canned, emotionless - pathetic imo!