A few dozen temporary homes are on the way to Iowa to help those displaced by flooding. Iowa Senator Tom Harkin was speaking at a press conference in Cedar Rapids Tuesday, when he received a cell phone call from David Paulison, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Harkin returned to relay word that 40 FEMA mobile homes were on the road from Arkansas and should arrive in Iowa by the end of the week. Cedar Rapids city officials asked for 500 of the homes to fill a serious housing shortage.
Flooding displaced roughly 25,000 residents of Linn County. Cedar Rapids Mayor Pro Tem Brian Fagan says officials are still trying to determine where residents and businesses will be allowed to rebuild. "The city council is currently evaluating housing within the 100 year flood impacted areas," Fagan said at the press briefing. "We’re examining areas where housing can and should be repaired and where housing should not continue to exist because of the risk of recurring flooding."
Housing inspectors in Cedar Rapids say around 2,000 homes in flooded areas are uninhabitable and will need demolished.