Flooding in Iowa (2 months later)
Today I had a little time to myself and I decided to drive thru some of the flood stricken areas of Cedar Rapids. It’s been quite some time since I was last in some of the neighborhoods, maybe 20 years or better. I started out where my brother had an apartment; his was a second floor apartment but it was still condemned. He said the water reached about chest high on the bottom floor, it’s about 5 to 6 steps to the first floor of the building. The water didn’t, but the smell of sewer ruined almost everything he had. He salvaged what he could and took it to my Moms house to store in her garage. Now his place was about 1 mile from the river and is in the process of being rebuilt. This area falls in the 500 year flood plain and home owners couldn’t get National Flood Insurance.
After his neighborhood I went to an area that I spent a lot of time in growing up. It’s about 1/3 mile from the river and I had lots of friends that lived there when I was younger. Just driving down the streets I could see all of the houses were empty and little signs of activity. These homes are within the 100 year flood plain, but my guess is that most didn’t have flood insurance. The majority of the homes are older and most likely paid for and handed down in the families. Many of my friends were second generation to grow up in their houses. I guess this is when it really hit me on how bad the flooding was here.
It’s so sad to see all the destruction that came from the floods. I can’t even imagine what it would be like to lose a life of memories and hard work from a couple weeks rain. My heart goes out to all the families that have been affected by this tragedy.
After his neighborhood I went to an area that I spent a lot of time in growing up. It’s about 1/3 mile from the river and I had lots of friends that lived there when I was younger. Just driving down the streets I could see all of the houses were empty and little signs of activity. These homes are within the 100 year flood plain, but my guess is that most didn’t have flood insurance. The majority of the homes are older and most likely paid for and handed down in the families. Many of my friends were second generation to grow up in their houses. I guess this is when it really hit me on how bad the flooding was here.
It’s so sad to see all the destruction that came from the floods. I can’t even imagine what it would be like to lose a life of memories and hard work from a couple weeks rain. My heart goes out to all the families that have been affected by this tragedy.