From the Rebuild Iowa Office forwarded by Jane Clark

July 30, 2010

IOWA MUST TAKE ACTION NOW TO MINIMIZE FLOOD RISK

Yet another round of increased precipitation and flooding this summer 
reminds us more must be done to minimize future flood risk in Iowa.

In 2008, tornadoes and widespread flooding resulted in the largest disaster 
in Iowa’s history. More than 40,000 Iowans were directly impacted by the 
disasters. Statewide losses were estimated between $8 and $10 billion with 
85 of Iowa’s 99 counties receiving a presidential disaster declaration. To 
this day, the disaster remains one of the biggest disasters in U.S. history 
when calculating damage to public infrastructure and utilities.

The Rebuild Iowa Office (RIO) was established as a temporary state agency to 
coordinate the state’s 2008 disaster recovery efforts and identify ways to 
leave Iowa safer, stronger and better prepared for future disasters. This 
summer’s flooding reminds us that we must remain vigilant to ensure this 
charge is met.

Immediately after the disasters, the Rebuild Iowa Advisory Commission 
incorporated input from thousands of Iowans to outline 12 overarching 
recommendations for long-term recovery, identifying everything from housing 
to case management to floodplain management and regional planning. The Iowa 
Legislature has taken steps to address every one of these recommendations, 
but work still remains, especially in reducing future flood risk. 
Comprehensive watershed and floodplain management and mitigation of flood 
risk must be a top priority for Iowa’s leaders.

Unfortunately, many of these recommendations have been heard before. After 
the 1993 floods in Iowa, the Iowa Flood Disaster Report included the 
following among its recommendations:

Iowa could benefit from an expanded, comprehensive, and fully integrated 
floodplain management program… The State of Iowa should review the 
floodplain management responsibility within the state and revise necessary 
laws to create a viable, effective program with adequate resources.

These recommendations were not acted upon in the aftermath of the 1993 
floods. Similarly, a White House committee issued its own set of federal 
recommendations which saw no serious consideration at the time.

Since those state and federal reports were published, Iowa has received 13 
presidential disaster declarations for flooding, and the state is projected 
to receive increased precipitation in the coming years. We cannot allow 
ourselves to once again forget the lessons we have learned. We must take 
action now to find solutions that will mitigate future flood damage to 
homes, farms, businesses, communities and our state.

Remember, it’s not a matter of “if” the next disaster will strike, but 
“when.”


Lieutenant General Ron Dardis
Rebuild Iowa Office Executive Director


Contact:
Juli Probasco-Sowers, RIO Media Specialist
(515) 242-5234 (o); (515) 249-1714 (c)
[log in to unmask]; www.rio.iowa.gov

 

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