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.
Continue Reading
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.
Continue Reading
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.
Continue Reading
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.
Continue Reading
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.
Continue Reading
The majority of Iowa has sustained massive flood damage from the recent historic flooding. Help the victims recover from this catastrophic event by donating.
Continue Reading
The floods in the Midwest have displaced thousands of pets from their homes. Since almost every major city in Iowa was affected by the flooding, thousands of homeless pets are left alone and confused. Rescue efforts all over the country are pouring in to help the pets affected by the floods of 2008. Read about the stories happening across the country.
Continue Reading
Almost every major city in Iowa, from Des Moines to Cedar Rapids to Waterloo, was affected by the flooding in 2008. Save Iowa collected several hundred flood-related articles to keep people informed. Read news about the historic flooding in Iowa from across the world.
Save Iowa does not post links to news from the main local Iowa newspapers, but does provide a complete list of the newspapers around Iowa so that you can visit their sites and find what you need. The news stories posted here are from other sources around the countries.
Continue Reading
Save Iowa was setup to help those affected by the historic 2008 Iowa Floods but a lot of the resources gathered are valuable to any cause. Below are online resources setup to assist those in need.
Continue Reading
There is a tremendous need for volunteers and donations all across eastern Iowa. Save Iowa tries to provide information on different ways that people can volunteer their time and efforts because healthy communities depend on volunteers.
