Officials evaluate new flood damage in Northeast Iowa

Officials are going back into northeast Iowa today to assess new flooddamage caused by weekend storms. Between five and ten inches of rain fellin Black Hawk and Butler Counties Friday night. Charlie Baier, a spokesmanfor the Red Cross Hawkeye Chapter in Waterloo, says preliminary estimatesindicate nearly 230 homes were damaged by the latest round of flooding.Baier says that number could rise because the assessment of damage in ButlerCounty isn’t complete. Baier says starting Wednesday, a service center willbe open at the Waterloo Red Cross office to assist flood victims.Meanwhile, Waterloo Mayor John Rooff is working with the Federal EmergencyManagement Agency in an effort to get Black Hawk county declared a federaldisaster area — again. The county was one of more than a dozen declareddisaster areas when storms hit northeast Iowa in May.