Word: floods
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...Czech Village gathering, which drew a handful of neighbors, is among several commemorations being held this month in Cedar Rapids and across eastern Iowa to mark the one-year anniversary of flooding that deluged cities large and small, upending many lives and causing an estimated $10 billion worth of damage ($6 billion in Cedar Rapids alone). Eighty-eight of Iowa's 99 counties were declared a natural disaster area as a result of last year's flooding and two deadly tornadoes. While progress has been made to recover from Iowa's worst disaster, many frustrated homeowners still await government help...
...make a down payment on another home. Residents are also thankful for the hard labor of countless volunteers. And in March, Cedar Rapids voters approved a local-option sales tax expected to produce $17 million a year to be used for buyouts. But the city's plan to improve flood protection, redevelop the riverfront and rebuild public facilities remains a concern for some. It includes buying out flood-damaged homes in the flood plain to make way for green space, flood walls and levees. "The city didn't look after their people," says Frank King, a neighborhood leader. "They have...
King faults city officials for "panicking people" early on by sending out conflicting messages about buyouts. "Most of the people who lived in the flood area were people of limited means, and it opened up a terrible, terrible opportunity," says King. Many sold their houses to speculators for "10 cents on the dollar" because "there was no direction from the city council...
...dominated by the accordion of a three-piece band. "We have to celebrate how far we've come, but we have a long way to go," says Gail Naughton, CEO of the nearby National Czech and Slovak Museum, which sponsored the roast. The museum was shuttered by the flood, but officials hope to rebuild. "People here are resilient, they're hardworking and they'll do what they need to do," says Naughton. "It's the uncertainty, the major decisions about where houses will be bought out and won't, where floodwalls will be and won't. People won't fight...
After enduring months of living in FEMA trailers, Toni Grimm and the neighbors at her barbecue are trying to move on - and stay put. Among the fortunate few with flood insurance, they still lost irreplaceable possessions to the flood waters. But Grimm's husband Tim says, "We aren't planning on going anywhere...