DES MOINES – Today, Gov. Terry Branstad, Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds, Adjutant General of the Iowa National Guard Tim Orr and Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Director Mark Schouten toured flood damage in Clarkesville and Shell Rock and assessed flood preparedness plans underway in Cedar Rapids. To view pictures of those visits, please visit Gov. Branstad’s facebook page at: www.facebook.com/TerryBranstad. It is anticipated that Gov. Branstad and Lt. Gov. Reynolds will be assessing flood damage later this week as well with the full schedule set to be released soon.
This update provides an overview of actions being taken by the State of Iowa to assist communities in northern Iowa impacted by flooding.
Proclamation of Disaster Emergency
On Sept. 23, 2016, Gov. Terry Branstad issued a proclamation of disaster emergency for 13 counties: Allamakee, Benton, Black Hawk, Bremer, Buchanan, Butler, Cedar, Chickasaw, Delaware, Floyd, Franklin, Linn and Wright.
The governor’s proclamation allows State resources to be utilized to respond to and recover from the effects of this severe flooding. The proclamation also activates the Iowa Individual Assistance Program for residents of those 13 counties. Gov. Branstad’s proclamation also activates the Iowa National Guard to assist in the response to, the mitigation of, and the recovery from the effects of the disaster as needed.
The Iowa Individual Assistance Program provides grants of up to $5,000 for households with incomes up to 200 percent of the current federal poverty level, or a maximum annual income of $40,320, for a family of three. Grants are available for home or car repairs, replacement of clothing or food, and for the expense of temporary housing. Original receipts are required for those seeking reimbursement for actual expenses related to storm recovery. The grant application and instructions are available on the Iowa Department of Human Services website. Potential applicants have 45 days from the date of the proclamation to submit a claim.
State Resources
The Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management is coordinating the delivery of state resources to the affected areas.
Resources that have been provided include:
- More than 180,000 sandbags (4 dump truck loads of sand)
- 27 water pumps and hoses
- 65 pallets of flood barriers, equal to 4,320 linear feet
- 50 traffic barricades
- Assistance to local law enforcement
- Four members of Iowa’s Incident Management Team to assist with response operations in Linn County
- 400 Flood Clean-up Kits
- 10 dump trucks
Over the next few days, the State will continue to work with local officials in the Cedar River basin to assist with planning and provide them with resources as they prepare for the potential flooding.
