Officials in a northwest Iowa community struck by Rock River flooding last month are seeking federal disaster aid to permanently fix heavily damaged streets. Rock Rapids Mayor Jason Chase says the city has done some temporary road repairs.
“Gravel for where there were streets that were gone,” he says, “until we get a better picture of what kind of a financial commitment we’re going to have from FEMA to get help with those projects.”
Rock Rapids has gotten FEMA assistance to cover debris removal and the city’s emergency response to the flooding, but Chase says they’re hoping to get FEMA funds for permanent repairs to roads and parks.
“The longer it takes, just the more frustrating it gets,” he says, “but we’re doing everything to ask to get the paperwork they want for those things and working on it.”
Rock Rapids has about 2600 residents. The mayor says they’re still assessing damage to private structures, but 20 to 30 homes had water on the main floor and water reached the main level of up to 30 businesses in Rock Rapids.
“Probably 75-80% of the town had some kind of water in their basement be it clear water drainage or sewer backup, it just kind of depended neighborhood to neighborhood,” he says. “If you take 75%, that’s about 900 homes that had something, that were affected somehow.”
Rock Rapids is in Lyon County, about 20 miles upstream from Rock Valley, which was hit hard by Rock River flooding last month.
(Reporting by Scott Van Aartsen, KIWA, Sheldon)