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Governor Culver Proclaims March is Flood Awareness Month

Governor Culver Proclaims March is Flood Awareness Month

Posted on 04. Mar, 2010 by admin.

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Several state agencies kicked off a month-long public information campaign designating March as Flood Awareness Month. Flood awareness is particularly important since Iowa is still recovering from the floods and storms of 2008. The 2008 disaster was not only the worst natural disaster to strike the state, but is considered one of the largest disasters on record in U.S. history. The Rebuild Iowa Office, the Iowa Insurance Division, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Division will share flood-related information and safety tips with the media and the public throughout the month of March.

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A Flood Story: The Credit Island Bait Shop in Davenport, Iowa

Posted on 26. Jan, 2010 by admin.

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Downtown Davenport

In the summer of 2008, the waters were starting to rise at alarming rates. Credit Island in Davenport, Iowa was no exception to the flooding, as for many years it falls victim to high water levels.

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Cedar Rapids City Council approves flood buyout plan

Posted on 21. Jan, 2010 by admin.

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From Tragedy To Togetherness: The Story Of A Flood

The Cedar Rapids City Council has unanimously approved a plan for buying-out flood-damaged homes. This comes not long after over 100 flood survivors turned out for a town hall meeting to quiz city and federal officials about the progress.

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Iowa Governor Culver Announces New Disaster Assistance Programs

Posted on 13. Nov, 2009 by admin.

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Programs to help impacted businesses and landlords, provide additional help for homeowners
Governor Chet Culver today announced four new disaster assistance programs for small businesses and landlords impacted by the 2008 storms and floods, as well as improvements to the duplication of benefits policy for homeowners, at a press conference in Cedar Rapids.

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The Cedar Rapids City Hall Question

Posted on 20. Aug, 2009 by admin.

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A look at City Hall in downtown Cedar Rapids

The city of Cedar Rapids is facing a tough question; should it rebuild the flood-damaged city hall or should it develop a new city hall from scratch?

It is a tougher question than most might think.

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From Tragedy To Togetherness: The Story Of A Flood

Posted on 11. Jun, 2009 by admin.

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From Tragedy To Togetherness: The Story Of A Flood

For two weeks in June 2008, heavy rains and widespread flooding pummeled the Midwest. The nation’s worst natural disaster since Hurricane Katrina, the floodwaters decimated downtown Cedar Rapids, Iowa, causing an estimated five billion dollars in damage and displacing over 2,000 people. The waters of the Cedar River crested at 31.2 feet, the highest in the town’s 168-year history. The flood ripped buildings from their foundations, tumbling and twisting homes and offices.

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CNN: Flood leaves boulevard of broken dreams

Posted on 14. May, 2009 by admin.

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A and W Root Beer

Doug Ward drives through a subdivision made up of rows of trailers. You can hear the sadness in his voice as he says, “This just doesn’t feel like home.” He longs for the life he lived before devastating floods destroyed his Cedar Rapids neighborhood.

“I want to come back. I miss (my friends) very much,” Ward said as he escorted CNN on a tour of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, nearly a year after the floods.

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Cedar Rapids Flood Stories

Posted on 13. May, 2009 by admin.

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Cedar Rapids Flood Stories

The Flood of 2008 forever changed Cedar Rapids. When the Cedar River crested, it extended well beyond the 500-year floodplain and covered more than 10 square miles of the city. A year later, thousands of residents are still struggling to rebuild.

While Iowans are known for strength and resilience, the people of Cedar Rapids can only do so much on their own and are left behind by a federal disaster funding system that some say is broken. This is not the first national disaster, and it won’t be the last.

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The Rebuild Iowa Office (RIO)

Posted on 10. Feb, 2009 by admin.

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Cedar Rapids Flood Stories

Iowans experienced one of the most devastating series of natural disasters in our state’s history. Now, in true Iowa spirit, it’s time to rebuild.

The Rebuild Iowa Office (RIO) was established by Governor Chet Culver to coordinate the state-wide recovery effort after the historic floods, tornadoes and severe weather of 2008.

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The Iowa Floods of 2008

Posted on 08. Feb, 2009 by admin.

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Iowa Floods of 2008
The Iowa floods of 2008, which began around June 8, 2008 and spanned till July 1, was a historic event involving most of the rivers in eastern Iowa. The flooding included the Upper Iowa River, the Wapsipinicon River and Iowa River, the Cedar River, the Des Moines Riverand the Upper Mississippi River. The floods of 2008 had had a tremendous affect on the state of Iowa people throughout Iowa where affected in many ways. The amount of devastation in communities like Cedar Rapids, Palo, Iowa City, Burlington, Cedar Falls, and Waterloo is unimaginable. Rivers crested many feet above previously recorded levels.

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