Iowa Flood Recovery To Cost Between $2 Billion To $3 Billion

Cedar Rapids, IA (AHN) - Iowa's worst nightmare is expected to end soon as floodwaters started to recede Monday. The flood, Iowa's worst in 30 years, had rendered 36,000 residents homeless and destroyed homes, farms and properties expected to exceed $2 billion in value.

Experts said this year's flood would go beyond the $2.1 billion losses registered in 1993, of which $1 billion was for destroyed farmlands and lost harvest. In Cedar Rapids alone, damage was estimated at $750 million, 50 percent from waterlogged houses and personal effects.

To bring back Iowa to its feet, Lee Clancey, president of Cedar Rapid's Chamber of Commerce, said at least $2 billion to $3 billion would be needed.

Aside from damaged homes, many of Iowa's largest production houses like Quaker Oats and Penford Products have to rebuild their inundated plants, repair floodwashed machines and temporarily stop production for several weeks.

On the plus side, many homes and factories could claim insurance payments, on top of disaster relief funds, which would provide Iowa's economy a much needed booster.

To help the residents rise up and restart their lives disrupted by the inundation that broke records, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said it would accept applications for disaster assistance. Police escorts accompanied residents of Cedar Rapids, in areas where the water had gone down, to save whatever items they could.

At its peak, Cedar River reached 31.1 feet on Friday, down to 24.6 feet on Sunday. According to the National Weather Service, the flow of water on Cedar River through Cedar Rapids reached 149,500 cubic feet per second on Friday, twice the 73,000 record established in 1961.

As a result of the disaster, 83 of 99 counties were declared by Iowa Gov. Chet Culver disaster areas, although only three deaths were recorded. Iowa City manager Michael Lombardo estimated it would take between 5 to 10 days for the waters to totally recede.