Save Iowa

Memories Lost in the Time Check Neighborhood of Cedar Rapids

Posted on 19. Jul, 2010 by admin in 2008 Flood, Stories

A Flood Story
By Cari Cooney

Elizabeth and her husband were going through a separation at the time of the flooding in 2008. Though she was living in a separate apartment, many of her items were being stored at their home together on 10th Street. Elizabeth was still frequently at the home, helping her husband remodel the kitchen and attic. They had just finished remodeling the bathroom.

When the word of possible flooding reached Elizabeth, she was nervous. Being told that it would be no worse than the flooding of 1993; she still felt it was necessary to move appliances and other items up to higher ground. Soon after, she noticed police driving up and down her street in gators, recommending evacuation. With out of town commitments pending, she called her husband, who happened to work for the city. He assured her everything would be taken care of and that she should keep on with her plans. The recommended evacuation was merely for “liability purposes.” She headed to St. Louis as planned, only to get the call that her neighborhood’s evacuation recommendation had been moved to “mandatory.”

A frantic Elizabeth called her husband, who was at work and beyond exhausted. She begged for him to find the time to save their cats and dogs. He was able to retrieve them, but assumed the birds would be safe and he left them behind. When the levee broke, he feared for the birds’ safety. There was no way he could walk into his house and get them. The National Guard wasn’t going to let him access his home. Not to mention there was four feet of water sitting on the main level. He decided to borrow a canoe from a friend. Quietly, he slipped past the National Guard and got into his house. The birds were rescued.
After the water was gone, Elizabeth described it as “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Mud was everywhere in the house and the smell of mold was awful. Friends came to help clean and salvage what they could of the home. The pets were boarded free of charge thanks to Elizabeth’s friend, Robin from Anamosa, Iowa. Clothing that was able to be saved were aggressively washed and washed again.

Treasured items were lost in the flooding. Among those items were cards, yearbooks and even Elizabeth’s beloved piano from when she was a child…all destroyed by the flooding. She had lost precious keepsakes from her grandmother, who had passed away. They also lost two vehicles. Her now ex-husband filed for assistance through FEMA, but she never saw any of the money to help her replace what she lost. She’s moved on, but she says she’ll never forget the shared loss she feels with the Cedar Rapids community.

As for the house, it still remains vacant two years later. The walls are knocked out. The once remodeled bathroom is back to framework. In an instant, a lifetime of memories were washed away.