Cedar Rapids, IA

Midwestern art.
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Hello Fellow Travelers,

Not a happy story but one of hardship and devastation.  Cedar Rapids is a small industrious City on the Cedar River in southeast Iowa.  They've suffered floods before, but maybe ankle-deep in the homes and businesses nearest the river.

Cedar Rapids

About 8-9 weeks ago, the rains came, and came, and came some more.  As "experts" started warning of rising waters, occupants of homes and businesses were told to raise their furniture and prized possessions at least 4 feet to avoid ruin.  Little did they know that the incessant rains would raise the water levels to 1 to 2 stories.

Residential neighborhood near Cedar River.
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The St. James and Salem churches, where Teddi and I worked, had the entire basements and first floor (sanctuaries) flooded.  Stories of grand pianos upended by the force of floodwaters were common.  As the waters receded, the pianos were turned upright and then sent off to be restored.  An organ, totally submerged, was powered up and still played although the notes were a little muted.

The experiences I took away from Cedar Rapids were the people who had traveled from Michigan, Minnesota, Texas, and South Dakota, who spent all day with shovels, wheel barrows, saws, and hammers to restore the buildings without asking for anything in return.  Some of parishioners of the flooded churches wore t-shirts that told of their service in Mississippi and Louisiana to help in the recovery after Hurricane Katrina.

Church where sanctuary and basement were being restored.
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Without rest, volunteers from local churches unscathed, spent their Saturdays, chipping paint, removing drywall and doing whatever it took to help with the recovery.  Just a real testimony about the grit and work ethic about midwesterners.

About 18,000 residents were displaced along with downtown businesses flooded. This is from a total of 110,000 population.  Because of the rolling hills layout of the city, the majority of the citizens escaped the flooding.  The Federal courthouse, County offices and commercial businesses experienced damage.  The waters rose slowly and inundated 40 blocks of  downtown and residential areas, thus avoiding any drownings.

Government buildings affected by the flood.
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Recovery experts believe it will take 5-6 years to recover fully.  Please keep the displaced Iowans in your prayers as we certainly will.