(DES MOINES) ó On Thursday, June 23, the Rebuild Iowa Office (RIO) will close after three years of coordinating and advocating for Iowa’s recovery from the 2008 disasters.
The RIO was initially created in June 2008 by Executive Order in response to the historic floods, storms and tornadoes which affected more than 40,000 Iowans and resulted in a presidential disaster declaration for 85 of Iowa’s 99 counties. In 2009, the RIO was unanimously formalized by the Iowa legislature in House File 64, which also established the office’s June 2011 sunset date.
The RIO was tasked with coordinating the statewide recovery efforts and worked with local, state and federal recovery partners to promote a collaborative approach to recovery. Efforts focused on addressing Iowa’s short- and long-term recovery needs as identified and recommended by the non-partisan Rebuild Iowa Advisory Commission (RIAC).
Needs identified by the RIAC included individual services, housing, business and nonprofits, infrastructure investments, recovery funding, local emergency management, community sustainability, regional planning, floodplain management, floodplain mapping, formally establishing the RIO until recovery was substantially complete, and ensuring coordinated communication.
In collaboration with its recovery partners, the Rebuild Iowa Office helped the state address all 12 of these long-term recovery needs and secure more than $4.3 billion in total 2008 disaster recovery funding.
Additionally, the RIO:
Worked directly with affected communities to help them envision and achieve long-term recovery goals in the months and years following the disasters.
Helped establish local voluntary agencies, and worked with existing local voluntary organizations to support disaster recovery case management efforts for affected Iowans across the state.
Advocated for legislative and policy changes at the state and federal level to better position Iowa for future major disaster recovery efforts.
Served as a statewide clearinghouse for disaster recovery information, ensuring unified and consistent messaging in Iowa’s recovery efforts.
Gathered federal, state and local lessons learned and best practices from Iowa’s recovery in various forms.
Developed a state framework for use in future long-term disaster recovery efforts.
Although the Rebuild Iowa Office will close on June 23, the RIO Web site (www.rio.iowa.gov) will remain an online resource for an additional six months. After that time, the site will be removed.
For ongoing 2008 disaster recovery inquiries and information, Iowans are encouraged to contact the Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Division at (515) 725-3231, or visit their Web site at http://www.iowahomelandsecurity.org/.|
