We have moved and are settling into our new home. It will never be the same. That home was my wife’s first home and had special meaning, especially to her. The lesson that I have learned is that floods should come with a detailed manual. The very best people in the world showed up to help and were followed close behind by the very worst. So much money tempted the bottom feeders, and they came in droves to take advantage of people who were lost. . . . If the city, state, and federal governments really cared, they should have a plan in place to avoid these pitfalls. After all, this was not the first flood the United States has ever had to deal with.
—E-MAIL FROM FRANK KING
In August 2009, on a beautiful evening of tolerable humidity, I met Troy and Beverly Simon at Blue Strawberry Coffee Company on Second Street in downtown Cedar Rapids. It had been almost a year since I had first met them at McDonald’s, during that shaky period just four months after their lives had been forever turned upside down by the flood. I had grown quite fond of them, and we were now on a first-hug basis. (If someone tells you that journalism is always objective, do yourself a favor and run like hell. Really.)
Earlier that day I drove out to the Simons’ former house at 3321 Ellis Road NW. Except for the basketball hoop, net still intact, and a trace of the driveway, there was no evidence that a house had once stood there. Birdsong filled the air, and the summer breeze off the Cedar was delightful. As Ron Sims had noted about his neighborhood downriver, the animals had at last returned to the river.
Troy and Beverly walked in arm and arm. We caught up on one another’s lives. Bev was continuing her work as a stylist at a local salon and, spotting my short hair, teased me for not waiting to have her cut my hair. Troy was still a business advisor for a management software consultant. They still did not have health insurance. Troy had just returned from New York City, where he had been helping his brother Eddie organize a ballroom dance competition. His brother, also a Cedar Rapids native, was U.S. ballroom dance champion in 1996.1
I asked Bev if her fear of being away from the Fongs had finally passed. “It wasn’t really fear,” she explained. “It was more the fact that it was just really messed up. The anxiety was like some of those feelings we had about moving here— when we realized that we didn’t have anything and needed to start over. It kind of brought about some of those emotions again, but we did OK. ”2
But now rowdy neighbors had moved into the complex, and apartment living was becoming stressful. Human vulgarity had replaced the sounds of nature. They craved the quiet of their old home along the river.
They were still sorting through options: moving to Florida; rebuilding a duplex on the Ellis Road lot; starting a business as life coaches. But the financial toll of the flood still tugged at them and limited their options. Troy said their monetary loss totaled $180,000. They had received $27,000 from FEMA. Still, Troy said, the feeling he was getting from the city was “Move on.”
“People are just over it,” he observed. “I mean, even the people that are supposed to be helping the people that need help, they’re just over it. If you’ve got a pain and you’re still suffering from it, they just think you ought to be over it by now. Because they’re over it.
“I ride my bike up along the river, and they’re repairing the benches and other park things that got damaged from the flood. They’re making it all beautiful. The little boat houses down there, they’re starting to get their electricity in, and I’m like, well, good for them. But you still have to take care of the people, you know?”3
We visited a bit longer, but I finally ran out of questions. We walked together to their car on Second Street. I had them sit on a bench and endure a couple of photographs. They couldn’t keep from touching. I remembered what Bev told me the first time I interviewed them.
“We realized what is truly important in life.”
Somehow I think they knew it all along.
So what I have learned?
I have learned there are no villains in a natural disaster. One could blame Mother Nature, but she was only doing what comes naturally and trying to find a place to put all that ungodly rain. Sure there are shady people who take advantage when we are down on our luck, but they are unseemly no matter what. Acts of human kindness and faith far outnumbered the unkind.
Also, I will never again ask, “Why do those people live in flood zones?” or “Why do we have to pay for the damages?” When you walk through Time Check and stop to talk to people there who lost everything, those questions suddenly seem so insensitive.
As much as they are criticized, I found all the government officials I spoke with doing the best they could in the worst possible situation. How do you really prepare for these off-the-charts disasters? Is San Francisco ready for the next geologic shudder that will undoubtedly come? Is the Midwest ready for the next New Madrid earthquake?
I learned that the response time for aid getting to the people who need it is pitifully slow and that red tape makes such response inefficient and complicated. We can do better.
I learned that it’s an advantage to have faith in the face of a crisis.
Is there a lesson in all this misery? If anyone would know, it would be those who experienced the Flood of 2008. As a way of closing, I posed two questions in an e-mail to many of my contacts: “Where are you at now in regards to the flood?” and “What is the one lesson you came away with when thinking back on the last year and a half?” Below are the answers I received.
This is as good a way as any to pay tribute to the thousands of flood victims, first responders, volunteers, and government officials throughout Iowa and the Midwest who fought, suffered, endured, and are still recovering in the wake of the 2008 flood.
This is not exactly a happy ending in the classic sense, but within these responses you will find the very best of the human condition.
Frank King: “We have moved and are settling into our new home. It will never be the same. That home was my wife’s first home and had special meaning, especially to her. The lesson that I have learned is that floods should come with a detailed manual. The very best people in the world showed up to help and were followed close behind by the very worst. So much money tempted the bottom-feeders, and they came in droves to take advantage of people who were lost. All business, especially concerning flood victims, should be monitored, and people who take advantage should be punished to the maximum allowable. If the city, state, and federal governments really cared, they should have a plan in place to avoid these pitfalls. After all this was not the first flood the United States has ever had to deal with.
“The volunteers are still using our [old] home and continuing to help rebuild homes for people with little resources They are planning on staying one or two more years.”
Jon Galvin: “We are still waiting on the buyouts; the timeline has changed so many times, as it is now set out for another four to nine months. We still do not know for sure what will be deducted from our buyout as far as federal and state help we have received. So it is still a big waiting game.”
[Lesson] “Do as much for yourself as far as financially possible, don’t rely on government help or what they say is grants or forgivable loans.”
John Bloomhall: “Our ‘interim recovery’ is complete. My reason for referring to it as ‘interim’ is due to the fact the U. S. [Army] Corps of Engineers just recently announced the flood protection plan that was developed to prevent a reoccurrence does not meet the benefit-to-cost ratio. Two of our major facilities (the HQ building and North Mfg. facility) will be impacted. We have millions of dollars of future expense related to these two facilities depending on what the Corps of Engineers and City of Cedar Rapids decide to do.
“The greatest lesson I learned was the extreme power that happens within a company when every single employee understands: 1) the company goal (in this example, once our employees were taken care of, our goal was to get our plant back online ASAP and then get our HQ building restored and rebuilt); 2) what that action plan is to achieve that goal; and 3) how does each employee “fit in” or contribute to achieving the goal. As a result of our flood experience and what I learned, we started a much more aggressive communication of our strategic plan with our managers and employees at the end of 2008.
“As you will recall, we had manufacturing back online starting in eight days after we got access to our plant, and our HQ building was cleaned and dried out and rebuilt within three months. We were the first company in Time Check to have two major facilities restored and operating after the flood.”
Janeta Tansey: “I continue to practice psychiatry in the corridor area, and still occasionally see patients who identify the flood as a turning point in their personal narratives.
“Trauma has a long-term impact on individuals’ psychological resilience and hope; it is more likely to be a positive impact when the persons have intact relationships and communities of care that offer meaning that transcends loss and fear.”
Chad Pregracke: “Living Lands & Waters has completed a ten-mile stretch of shoreline river cleanup on the Cedar River, starting in Cedar Rapids going downriver to the Palisades Park area. LL&W worked harder and retrieved more garbage in that ten-mile stretch than we did on a 300-mile stretch during previous cleanups. We are currently planning to plant 5,000 to 10,000 oak trees in this area as part of our Million Trees Program.
“When faced with extreme challenges and devastation, midwestern people have a very strong work ethic and come together to get a lot of hard work done.”
Troy and Beverly Simon: “We have not gotten much further, certainly not as far as we need to be, since a good part of our life savings was in sweat equity in our home. After losing thousands in the stock market in 2001 and 2002, it seemed the home was a good place to put it. We’re still at a standstill as Troy has taken on extra side jobs to help get on our feet. We have been told by city and federal government that our property was in a flood zone after being told by our mortgage lender our property was not in a flood zone and not required to carry flood insurance.
“Somehow you need to keep looking forward and keep moving forward while trying to recover from what all that the past has taken from you even though you feel like you keep continually getting pulled backwards. But we are very thankful for our own strong personal relationship and the support from our church, friends, and family. When you lose everything, you really see what is important in life, and it is very clear you can’t rely on possessions.
“‘What are the struggles you still face after the last year and a half?’ We’ve talked and the first thing that comes to mind is the city government really screwed the victims over. We hope our newly elected city government will take care of the people! We have not been helped by the city in any attempt, even though all our worldly possessions and our house had been totally destroyed and two self-employed businesses totally destroyed. The city has never attempted to contact us since we don’t have employees and [don’t] qualify as a small business. We are now in line with everyone that got water in their basements or had their investment properties damaged, not to mention the millions of flood donations that went to non-flood-related city supported projects.
“All the red tape you have to go through as you’re trying to recover and get back on your feet only makes the city and many others not affected by the flood richer, and it only wears the victims out with little hope of getting a part of their life back. If they would have paid each victim in this disaster $150K to build homes, they would have saved a billion dollars in red tape and the victims could have moved forward with their lives. And [the city] would not have raised local taxes, except they wanted to do this prior to the flood to pay for pet projects. I guess they get their cake and can eat it too.
“The reality is that one can only be positive and patient for so long; it’s just hard to take anymore.”
Leah Wilson: “The National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library (NCSML) has made huge progress since June of 2008. I can see that when I take a moment to leave the minutia of the moment and recall the milestones that we’ve reached so far, the ones between disaster and recovery.
“The NCSML plans, rather incredibly, to move the flood-damaged building across the street, raise it up and situate it on a level of parking, and incorporate it into a new exhibition center and library. This is an architectural challenge, as one can imagine, but the completed structure will be prominently located in our ethnic neighborhood and safe from future flooding. The final structure will be three feet higher than the flood level of 2008. . . . We recently launched a national oral history project, funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, that will help us to tell the stories of the twentieth-century immigrants who settled in Cleveland; Washington, D.C.; and Chicago.
“There were many lessons. But the most salient for me personally: Never underestimate the power of community. Never doubt that you can recover.”
Other NCSML Staff Members
Stefanie Kohn, curator: “A disaster doesn’t end when it stops making the news. The flood set in motion a series of events, each building on the one prior, and will continue to do so. I am constantly reacting to and adjusting to these events and am left wondering when I can close the door on the flood, lock it, and say, ‘Now it’s over.’”
Jan Stoffer, director of operations: “I’m still learning. Living in a community, and working for an organization, recovering from a disaster teaches me something every day. In the beginning I learned about resilience, the power of optimism and hope, and how neighborhoods can come together to rally around a common cause. As time passes, I am learning about perseverance, determination, stubbornness, and the preciousness of each and every victory that moves us closer to recovery. I look forward to learning more from those who continue to fight the fight, as well as from those who have decided it is time for them to stop and focus on other endeavors.
Gail Naughton, president/CEO: “Recovery is much more complicated than [I] could have been imagined in the first days of disaster response. Making a vision for full recovery and staying focused on that goal is paramount. You have to continually communicate that vision and reach out to people to help you get there.”
Christian Fong: “The confluence of a financial sector crisis and a natural disaster in the same year was simply too much for many local businesses, and ‘executive on loan’ programs became impractical. AEGON was no exception, and I recently left the firm. Now I am the CEO of my own management consulting firm, Fong Strategic Consulting, and am working professionally with many of the same people I stood side by side with on the civic front lines after the flood.
“I continue to run CorridorRecovery.org. The weekly traffic reports give me a unique view into the level of interest and activity in flood recovery. That the site remains one of the most frequently visited local Web sites is proof that for the residents of Cedar Rapids, the crisis is not over. More than ever, I love this hurting city.
“A culture of servant leadership is the only antidote to the fear-induced civic paralysis that can dominate in a disaster and its aftermath. It takes boldness, humility, selflessness, and endurance to make it through. Cedar Rapids is a city that celebrates that sort of servant leader, and I’m lucky to live here.”
[In December 2009, citing fund-raising difficulties, Christian withdrew from the Iowa governor’s race. “I wouldn’t have started if I didn’t think I could win. But at [age] thirty-two, this is just round one. I’m not closing any doors.”
Greg Eyerly: “We have just started the home acquisitions and rebuilding of public buildings. We are seeing businesses that reopened immediately after the flood beginning to fail. The Blend was a popular upscale restaurant before the flood, and it closed it doors for good two weeks ago. I have been told that there are another dozen businesses that are the brink of failure in the next two months. The businesses are struggling for three reasons: 1) the national economy; 2) increased debt load from taking on SBA flood loans, which hurts both cash flow and the ability to get more capital; and 3) decreased number of people living and working in the flood impacted area.
“We are also seeing a sharp increase in individual financial problems for people who are flood impacted. The areas of the town that were most affected are also the areas of low to modest income levels. People who lost their homes are having problems finding affordable replacement housing. Much of Cedar Rapids’ affordable housing was lost in the flood.
“The federal programs set up to assist us with flood recovery are slow and very cumbersome to work with. We can’t get money into the hands of the people who need it most. There is just too much red tape.”
Linda Seger: “Almost twenty months after the Flood of 2008, my home, completely destroyed by floodwaters, is now rebuilt. We have moved back into the structure and replaced some of the furniture so that we now look “settled”. The landscape is different, since we lost most of the bushes and shrubs that surrounded the one-hundred-year-old home. We replaced many bushes, but they are very small and it will be sometime before they mature to the size of previous greenery.
“It feels wonderful to be home. The joy of pulling into the driveway and being able to walk inside the house and know we once again live here is hard to put into words. We have been able to celebrate birthdays, weddings, and holidays and build new memories in this home. We appreciate even the little things that are a part of having a home.
“The lesson is to appreciate all those you hold dear and never take life for granted. When disaster hits, it is really up to each of us to turn our situation from one of being a victim to that of being a survivor. We can take charge of our recovery no matter how small we think we are in the scheme of things. The power of positive thinking is within us all, and we can make things happen if we have faith. In my life I sought strength from my Christianity. I had the wonderful love and support of my family throughout, but in addition to that I had Jesus Christ with me. This gave me courage and determination to deal with the unbelievable obstacles that were ahead.
“Personally, where am I now? [I’m] changed in many ways. I am a stronger person both emotionally and spiritually. I have taken an active role, getting involved in government and what a citizen needs to do to make a change. I challenged what I was being told and looked for the truth about what was taking place with the city and flood recovery I feel a responsibility in assisting my neighbors and friends in getting help and respect with the concerns that they have.
“I definitely feel I am in a better place than I was almost twenty months ago by taking charge of my life and the outcome of what I wanted to see accomplished. It isn’t to say that everything is perfect, because it is not. There are still a multitude of things going on that put our future in some limbo. Yet I have faith and courage that I will not be forsaken by God. With that, I do realize that I have limitations. I am financially not as secure as I was prior to the flood. Physically I am older, and with age comes restrictions I am content to let little things resolve themselves and focus on bigger problems. I have accepted I cannot change everything I want to change. I treasure family and good friendships. I still find it easy to laugh and have fun. I am truly blessed.”
POSTSCRIPT
On March 15, 2010, the city of Cedar Rapids began to demolish 286 flood-damaged properties in the Time Check neighborhood.
In a news release issued one week prior to the demolition, city officials “determined that these structures pose an imminent threat to the life, health, property, and safety of the public, based on the nuisance abatement requirements contained in Chapter 22 of the Municipal Code The City has received signed permission from each of the property owners to demolish the residential structures on the 286 properties . . . Each property owner has signed a ‘Content to Enter, and if necessary Demolish’ form.
“The City has conducted multiple checks of ownership on each property to ensure accuracy. Property owners are being notified of the pending demolition through mailed letters, signs posted on the structures, legal notices in The Gazette and this media release. As each demolition is scheduled, property owners will be notified again with a phone call.”4
Jon Galvin first tipped me off to the demolition. “They are saying that now, after about twenty-one months, they are a health hazard. We contend that they are tearing them down to make room for whatever they are planning after the homeowners are bought out. If the houses are down the city can sell [the lots] quicker than if they have to wait [and tear the houses down] after they buy them. Also, it will keep the people from deciding that they have waited long enough and, after they save a little money, that they want to rebuild. I have instructed the city to leave my house alone until after they own it as I might decide to rebuild (if a rich uncle dies or I win the lottery).”5
Linda Seger said the number was actually more like 400 properties, twelve directly behind her house in the 1600 block of Ellis Boulevard. She said utility workers had been heckled as they disconnected power and cable lines from the condemned houses and apartment buildings. The hecklers shouted, “No demo until the owner is paid!” “This is organized theft of homes!” “The city should be sued for land grabbing!”
Linda said, “Workers assure me they do not know the story of exactly what has taken place here prior to the flood and the months that followed. They thought people just did not want to come back. And I told them that was true for some. Yet many wanted to come back and rebuild, and the city delayed and delayed building permits until many owners gave up any hope of going home. They were promised the buyout and it was supposed to come by fall 2008, then spring of 2009, then summer of 2009, then fall of 2009, well, you get the idea. Little by little people died and moved away and settled for housing that was either less than what they had—such as FEMA trailers—or a home that cost more than they could afford. Fear was used to scare them from ever coming back.
“Sasaki is watching their revitalization plans come to life,” Linda continued. “I am hearing many say the city has already selected which developers will get to develop certain areas—areas they picked months ago before the opportunity was opened up to a wider range of developers and builders. The rush to destroy the houses is very disturbing. Rows and rows of family homes that were a part of one of the oldest neighborhoods, if not the oldest, in the city are being crushed like cardboard boxes.”
She had recently been referring to her besieged neighborhood as the West Bank. “This was the slice of diverse America that politicians like to portray when touting the face of democracy. Hundreds of citizens—many with forefathers dating back over 150 years—are so exhausted from the ordeal, the promises, the politics, the red tape and personal loss that they have practically given their land to the government. It was not the flood that erased the inner city neighborhoods, it was an agenda to make the dream of gentrification a reality. There is so much corruption here it is sickening.”6
A few days before I heard from Jon and Linda, an Associated Press story made its way into the Cedar Rapids Gazette with the headline, “Report: More than $10 million in Cedar Rapids flood aid misspent.” An audit conducted by the inspector general’s office of the U.S. Department of Housing found that $10.5 million in federal grants for businesses in Cedar Rapids was “misspent.” The money was in the form of 305 “forgivable loans and were improperly awarded to Cedar Rapids businesses through the Jumpstart Iowa Small Business Assistance Program.” The article goes on:
The audit faults the state’s Department of Economic Development for oversight problems, particularly for failure to ensure that the businesses receiving grants complied with a key eligibility standard established for the program.
The audit’s criticism of the disaster funds program marks the second time in recent months that the Department of Economic Development has come under scrutiny. Department Director Mike Tramontina resigned in September after irregularities were found in the Iowa Film Office, which administered state tax credits to filmmakers.
“In the Jumpstart case, HUD auditors said state and Cedar Rapids officials who administered the program failed to verify that grant recipients didn’t receive duplicate benefits though any other disaster assistance programs, insurance or other source.
“State officials said they disagreed with the finding that $10.5 million had been misspent, but agreed that a review of possible duplication of benefits was necessary. That review is under way through the Small Business Administration, Bret Mills, Iowa’s director for economic development, told federal officials.7
Linda then sent me nine photographs of residences and streets in Time Check, a small fraction of the 150 pictures she had taken. She had written captions that read, MAIN STREET USA; NO MORE CHRISTMAS DINNERS HERE; HOMES THAT COULD HAVE BEEN SALVAGED; GENERATIONS LIVED HERE; BEAUTIFUL STREETS THAT WILL BE GONE FOREVER; and so on. In an ongoing effort to save the neighborhood, she presented a packet of black and white photos of the neighborhood to the Cedar Rapids City Council. She said no one on the council ever acknowledged receiving the photographs.