A Community Recovers

By Jodi Harris – Jacki and Greg were still newlyweds, married on August 4, 2007, at the time of the flood, almost a year later on June 13, 2008. They had moved from Cedar Rapids to Stanwood because it was about halfway between Cedar Rapids, where she works and Davenport, where Greg worked. Greg changed jobs in April, so they found a nice home to rent in Cedar Rapids. They moved in early April, and were thrilled to have found a nice place to call home. The house was located at 526 1st Avenue NW, right next to the parsonage of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Cedar Rapids. Jacki is my friend and coworker at Toyota Financial Services.

She was out of town the week of June 7th, working as a camp counselor in Washburn, Ill. Something she does every summer. On June 11, she and some other counselors were having lunch together when a staff member from Des Moines was telling everyone about flood evacuations in Des Moines and Cedar Rapids. Jacki became worried and called Greg to find out what he thought about the possibility of their house being flooded. He felt they were safe, as the forecasted crest of the Cedar River was 25 feet. Jacki trusted his judgment, but asked if he could move their new TV to the second floor. She also thought it would be good to move Greg’s grandmother’s bibles, as they were irreplaceable. He moved those items, still feeling like there was no chance they would be directly affected by flood waters, but he didn’t want her to worry.

Another day passed, and Greg got word that they had to evacuate. He grabbed Sylvester, their cat, packed up the car with clothes for the weekend, and drove to Jacki’s parents home in Wenona, IL. Jacki’s mom, Debby, started following news reports, and became alarmed when she read about the flooding of St. Pat’s Church. As she followed the situation online, it became apparent that Jacki & Greg’s house would be affected. The crest reports became higher and higher, and they helplessly waited and watched. Jacki and Greg stayed at her parents’ house, wondering what they would find when they were allowed to go back into the house.

On Thursday, June 12, Jacki received a text message from a friend, saying that she saw their house on the news. That was the first indication that things would be much worse than they had ever imagined.

Finally, on Sunday, June 15, they left Illinois to go home. Normally, a three hour drive, it took seven hours due to flood detours. Once they arrived back in Cedar Rapids, they went to Greg’s sister’s home in Marion to stay temporarily.

Still unable to even drive by their home, they continued to anxiously wait and wonder. They said the stress of the wait was intense.

Jacki thought she would have to go to work on Monday, but Toyota Financial Services was closed on Saturday, June 14 and Monday the 16th. She went to work on Tuesday, still unable to see their house. On Wednesday, 1st Avenue was opened and she and Greg drove by the house for the first time. They were still not allowed to enter, and were astonished at the height of the water line on the house. Their deck in the back yard had been ripped from the house and was now flipped around and sat farther back in the yard. Someone else’s deck, which was only about 8″ tall, had landed where the old 4 foot deck had been attached to the house. The back door was about 3 foot higher than the platform of the shorter deck.

Finally, on Wednesday evening, they saw their address on the Corridor Recovery list. There was no placard color assigned to the house yet. On Thursday, they were able to enter the house and see the devastation. All three entry doors were swelled shut, so they had to force the back door open, and climb into the house by using a chair to stand on to enable them to enter the door, now 3 foot off the ground.

What they saw was devastating. Jacki described the scene as a black soot covered disaster. They entered into the kitchen which was now hard to recognize. Their refrigerator was flipped over on it’s back, and the dining room table and the sofa had floated about 10 feet from living room. Ironically, the remote from their new TV, never got wet. It was on top of the upright couch, and it still worked. The dining room table was still in place, but was trashed.

Jacki’s grandma’s antique desk was lost. It was full of her memories and keepsakes including high school and college pictures, old children’s books wanted to save, and prize ribbons from art contests and 4H. She said when they tried to move the desk, it collapsed into a heap of soggy lumber.

When I asked how she felt emotionally, she said I cried for a few minutes, then realized we had so much to do in a very short time, and there was no more time to stop and grieve.

Jacki was fortunate to be able to borrow a large rental truck, which TFS had rented for use by Associates during the aftermath of the flood. So, on Friday, they began moving everything from the second floor of the house out. They opened the window on the front porch and removed the screen to enable them to get their belongings out easier. Jacki’s parents came to help and several coworkers came too. The house had a layer of mud coating the entire first flood, making it difficult and dangerous to walk on the floor. She said it was like trying to walk on a surface covered with cooking oil. They literally skated through the house to the stairs to get their valuables out of the second floor. Time was of the essence, so there was not a minute to waste. They had purchased a new memory foam bed when they moved to the house, and had to buy a huge roll of plastic wrap from Menards to protect it. They folded the king sized mattress in half, like a sandwich, and wrapped the plastic wrap around it to keep it folded. This enabled them to get it out through a door, which they had to forcefully open.

Every piece of clothing, bedding, rugs and curtains had to be washed. Two other coworkers volunteered to wash them for the couple. There were over fifty loads of laundry to be done.

Jacki was overwhelmed! Emotions were raw, stress was high, and she was physically and emotionally exhausted. Greg had left for work and the realization that they were truly not going to be able to return to the house, suddenly hit her like a jackhammer.

Everyone was asking her to tell them where to move things, and they were trying to keep an inventory of items they had to throw out. It was all just too much to handle! She left the chaos, went into their now empty bedroom and sat down and cried. Her supervisor from work, Kristy, and her son showed up in the midst of the moment. Kristy gave her a much needed hug, which made the tears come faster.

She was sad, mad, tired and worried, but after a few minutes, she realized she had to move on, and leave the tears behind. She knew she had to get back to work. So, she took a deep breath, wiped her tears and moved forward, once again.

They moved temporarily, to a church parsonage on the northwest side of Cedar Rapids. They had the lower level and another family stayed upstairs in the split foyer home. They all shared the kitchen. Their life was in limbo and they had a million decisions to make at once. They stayed there for about two weeks as they searched for a permanent place to move. They told me they felt extremely fortunate to find a new apartment on Rushmore Drive NE, as quickly as they did. They moved to the new place on week of July 4th. Jacki’s parents again came from Illinois to help them move. Their third move in a matter of three weeks.

The couple said, looking back, they were very lucky that so many of their things were on second floor, and they received assistance from several organizations including Toyota Associate Emergency Relief Program (TAERP), The Red Cross, Taiwan Tzu Chi Foundation Buddist Group, and a small amount from FEMA, which they used for the deposit on the new place. Jacki’s friends at work also donated new laundry baskets filled with cleaning supplies, paper products and hygiene products. She said it is just so hard to lose all those things. “You just don’t realize how much was lost until you need something. You would go to clean the bathtub and realize, Oh right, I don’t have any Softscrub anymore….”

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