A flood risk management team with representatives from five states and several federal agencies is meeting in Cedar Rapids today. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spokesman, Bob Anderson, says the group is breaking new ground. Anderson says it’s the first team of its kind in the nation that has a regional approach with multiple agencies working together so the public can go to one place after a flood for help with questions and concerns.
Anderson says they learned with various events, including the massive flooding in Iowa in 2008, that there needed to be more of a streamlined process. He says flood victims would have to go to the S-B-A for a business loan, to FEMA and several other agencies and places, but this allows them to go to one place to get what they need in one place. It’s the first time the group has met in Iowa, and he says they will talk about the lessons learned here.
Anderson says that’s especially true with the challenges Cedar Rapids faced. He says there have already been several flood events in North and South Dakota, so there’s great interest right now. Flood risk management officials from Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin will join those from Iowa at the meeting.