Disaster Recovery News

A year ago, in Iowa, the rain began to pour. Six inches of rain–over the span of two days–caused several feet of flood water and the devastation of 30 counties and the hundreds of homes and businesses in those counties. Many homes and businesses suffered extensive damage as contaminated flood waters rushed into every nook and cranny possible.

As a result of the devastating water damage, many buildings had to be demolished. To assist with relief, the government promised to buy-out hundreds homes affected by the flood waters, but homeowners are still waiting for Uncle Sam’s check so they can move on with their lives.

Many are guessing it will take at least a few years to for the communities affected by the 2008 floods to fully recover. With the flood recovery process still underway, service agencies are still helping business and homeowners get back on their feet by providing monetary funds, donating home appliances, and sending in volunteers to help tired home and business owners with odd tasks such as paining and gardening.

Learn more about the process of recovering after a flood.

In a city council meeting in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Justin Shields placed an idea before his fellow council members: people should begin to  pay an emergency local-option sales tax of 2 percent extra for the next two years. The money collected would go towards recovery for victims of the June 2008 flood.

Rick Smith with The Gazette reported:

 ”Shields said it’s clear that neither the federal nor the state government is going to provide the city with the disaster relief it needs. Shields, who represents sections of the southwest quadrant hit hard by the June flood, said he can’t keep telling flood victims to hold on, help is coming…School districts already have a 1 percent local-option sales tax in place in the county, and the state has a 5 percent tax. Most of the state’s largest cities have a 1 percent tax, too.”

The increase in sales tax for a couple of years is Shields’ answer to how the citizens of his community can be supported without having to take money out of the city or county’s budget, therefore, preventing more job losses. Some are looking at this idea as a way people in the community can help each other in this time of need.

Some are opposed to Shields’ idea with the current economic crisis in the United States. Read more here.

Learn about the flood recovery process and disaster recovery services.