By William Smith
Cedar Rapids has an apocalyptic feel right now, and its citizens are desperate for help.
For the city of more than 130,000 residents decimated last week when the derecho ripped through Iowa, relief has been arriving in the form of volunteers equipped with a help-your-neighbor mindset.
“Some haven’t seen anyone with chain saws yet and are literally begging, asking: ‘Can you help my neighbor, he’s disabled.’ They don’t know if they have damage yet because the trees are on the roof still,” said Valerie Wagner, bookkeeper for Harmony Bible Church in Danville and Burlington.
Sitting 100 miles away by car, Burlington is one of those far-flung, unlikely Iowa neighbors. Wagner has been receiving first-hand accounts of the damage in Cedar Rapids directly from church volunteers who began streaming into the city on Thursday (Aug. 13).
At least 46,000 Iowans (including large portions of Cedar Rapids) are still without power as of Monday.
“They say you can see the stars in Cedar Rapids. That’s never happened before," said Wagner, who is the point coordinator for the church’s relief efforts.
Worshipers have been departing for Cedar Rapids in waves, armed with chain saws, water bottles, and food to give away. The latest relief group left Danville’s Harmony Bible Church parking lot on Saturday morning (Aug. 15), and it won’t be the last.
“We had a lot of members of our church call and ask how they could help,” said John Deluca, executive pastor of ministries for Harmony Bible Church.
Doran and Ward Packaging in Burlington have collected fuel, ice, and much-needed grocery supplies for delivery to the Lil’ Drug Store in Cedar Rapids. The Des Moines County Humane Society loaded an SUV with pet food supplies and other amenities over the weekend bound for the Cedar Valley Humane Society in Cedar Rapids.
“At this time, the Cedar Valley Humane Society remains without power,” said Kandi Hillyer, director of the Burlington Animal Shelter.
Making use of a wide range of Cedar Rapids contacts, including Veritas Church and New City Church, Harmony Bible has patched together a volunteer lifeline. Harmony Bible Church member Steve Deggendorf scouts ahead in the days before teams are sent out, providing exact locations for volunteers to help.
Tornado-like storm damage from the Aug. 10 inland hurricane (called a derecho) is the most obvious open wound. Tents dot the yards of homeowners who no longer have roofs. The school year has been delayed due to damage to more than a dozen schools.
Unlike a tornado, the damage from the derecho isn’t constrained to a narrow path. It’s city-wide, and stretches well beyond Cedar Rapids, through central Iowa. Gov. Kim Reynolds estimated about $4 billion in damage.
The Associated Press has reported 8,200 homes were destroyed or extensively damaged by the storm. On Monday (Aug. 17), President Donald Trump signed an emergency declaration for Iowa to supply federal money for assistance, and he visited the city on Tuesday.
The Burlington Beacon will further explore local aid for the storm-ravaged city later this week through the eyes of a Cedar Rapids woman who grew up in Burlington.
Photo by William Smith
Jeff Allen and Joanne Otto load coolers and water onto a caravan of trucks in Danville's Harmony Bible Church parking lot Saturday morning, shortly before driving the supplies to storm-ravaged Cedar Rapids.