Iowa flooding: Relief as some Cedar Rapids residents go home
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa. — 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.
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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.
“I wasn’t going to let it happen again. No way,” Lynn said Wednesday from the stoop of the house her father built.
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.
"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.
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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.
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"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.
City police will be doing drive-by checks on threatened properties but they won’t be knocking down doors unless lives are in danger.
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“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. CT Thursday, the river had dropped to 17.1 feet from Monday’s crest of 21.97 feet, according to the National Weather Service. The river is considered flooded at 12 feet.
Follow MacKenzie Elmer on Twitter: @mckelmer
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