Looking in at Iowa

From Reno Gazette-Journal:

Ed Carlson, known in Reno as “The Waver” for a three-decade stint walking along western Nevada roads and waving to motorists, thanked people for all the letters of support and the money they sent when his life took two tragic turns in June.

Within a few weeks, Carlson found out his wife had terminal cancer and they lost their Cedar Rapids, Iowa, home to Midwest flooding. …

More about Ed Carlson, including a Gazette article, in this post:

Reno icon ‘Waver’ returned to Cedar Rapids, becomes flood victim; Wife learned of terminal lung cancer a week before flood

From The Boston Globe:

The [Global Relief Technologies' GRT software] product underwent a major test last month, when the Red Cross used it during flooding in Iowa that displaced 40,000 people. Small teams assessed the damage in particular areas and transmitted data over a satellite network, including photos, water levels, the extent of damage to specific homes, and geographic information about areas that were flooded and being evacuated.

It was overlaid on maps and satellite images, allowing the Red Cross to anticipate needs and strategically place personnel and supply points. The system even matched the names of displaced residents with damage estimates for their homes. …

In Iowa, GRT was deployed as a pilot program in the Cedar Rapids area, where the Cedar River crested at 31.1 feet - 19.1 feet above flood level. …

Related articles by Zemanta

• Compiled AP videos about Cedar Rapids, Iowa City Floods of 2008

From State Journal-Register (Springfield, Illinois):

Illinois Humane has taken in five dogs abandoned during the recent flooding in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and plans to put them up for adoption. …

Bandit, a 4-year-old pit bull mix, saw the worst conditions of the five. The dog was found in floodwater, and has since been held at a number of animal-care facilities. …

Two of the other dogs, both pit bull mixes under 3 years of age, will be showcased for adoption Sunday at Petco, 2721 S. Veterans Parkway, with about 10 other dogs and five cats. …

From Colorado Daily (Boulder, CO):

Search crews found a pair of hikers alive and uninjured early this morning after the men were reported missing near Eldora late Sunday night, according to the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office.

Patrick Nelson, 21, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Sean Klomparens, 20, of Rockville, Md., headed into the backcountry Saturday morning. …

A Flight for Life helicopter and search dog pored over the area until searchers found the men about 8:40 a.m. near Goose Lake, northeast of South Arapahoe Peak. …

From Chicago Tribune via Los Angeles Times:

Outside the plant, under the highway entrance ramp, Vincent Amaya is impatient, waiting for construction work. Not willing to do cleanup at Quaker, he has begun scavenging in the downtown area, looking for discarded copper he can bag and sell.

“You can make $300, $500 a day,” Amaya said. “I don’t see anybody picking this stuff up, and the owners are throwing it out anyway.”

But his family back in Mexico needs money. “I need to find a job, a big job to work on,” he said.

From The National (Abu Dhabi Media Company):

Through the mosque’s website, mothermosque.org, Mr [Taha] Tawil anticipates that more people will see what has happened and donate money in support. So far, he estimates, only a few thousand dollars have been collected for the flood relief. He values the damages at about US$75,000 (Dh275,000). …

“This act brought us back to our human nature, our humanity,” he said. “The flood got all in its path. There was no distinguishing between religions.” …

June 12, 2008 | Aerial view of Cedar Rapids flood from hotel roof (1:33) - Video by Michael Barnes/GazetteOnline - 64,313 views

June 12, 2008 | Historic Flooding in Cedar Rapids, Iowa (1:47) - Video by Associated Press - 48,307 views

June 15, 2008 | Strike teams make entry into flood ravaged Cedar Rapids (2:19) - Video by Jeff Raasch/GazetteOnline - 42,766 views

June 13, 2008 | Aerial tour of flooding in Cedar Rapids, Iowa area (0:57) - Video by Liz Martin/GazetteOnline - 27,671 views

June 11, 2008 | Cedar Rapids Flood 2008 UPDATE (6:10) - Video from “rudedog699900″ - 25,640 views

June 11, 2008 | Aerial tour of flooding in Eastern Iowa (1:40) - Video by Cliff Jette/GazetteOnline - 24,202 views

June 14, 2008 | Cedar Rapids Remains a City Under Water (1:39) - Video by Associated Press - 22,625 views

June 11, 2008 | The historic flooding in Cedar Rapids, Iowa 2008 (2:30) - Video from “tdriskell6313″ - 22,246 views

June 11, 2008 | Flooding evacuations in Time Check in Cedar Rapids, Iowa (2:02) - Video by Michael Barnes/GazetteOnline - 21,360 views

From My Fox St. Louis:

Rams Super Bowl quarterback Kurt Warner was back in St. Louis, Saturday, launching an all out “blitz” to help flood victims; asking for help big and small. …

[Lisa] Sinak’s mother lives in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the same flood ravaged city where Warner grew up; where Warner’s and Sinak’s mothers both became flood victims.

“This is my sister, she lives next to your mom,” Sinak told Warner. …

From American Red Cross:

When Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross more than 125 years ago, she envisioned Americans organized to help those who had been touched by disaster. …

Three generations of the Sharpe family, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa — Gwenyth Sharpe (from left), Luke Sharpe, Gary Sharpe and Gary’s sister, Karen Mercer – are proud of a family connection to Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross. Mercer took in all three generations when their homes were inundated in recent flooding. …

Related articles by Zemanta

• Midwest floods leave Red Cross in the red
• Directory of flood-related Web resources published by The Gazette

According to The Militant, socialist newsweekly:

Hundreds of workers hired by a temporary agency here for flood cleanup in Cedar Rapids, 115 miles away, were left stranded with no pay at the end of their assignment. In response a number of the workers assembled in Des Moines at the agency’s parking lot to demand their promised pay. The company locked the doors and called the police to break up the crowd. …

[Mary] Butler said she received one phone call from a worker reporting that 17 Command Center employees were housed in one motel room. They were sleeping in shifts. …