Three nights after we were unceremoniously expelled from our house, we made our fourth return to our home, this time with cameras in tow.
Liz had the still camera or most of the time and took some more great flood photos. The first 40 are from our sandbagging days, but skip to the last third and you can see the inside and outside of our flooded house as well as a few shots of the surrounding neighborhood.
With Iowa City on the brink of being split in two, literally and metaphorically, Liz and I are trying to stitch our lives back together. Our friends John and Lindsay have been incredibly generous hosts and now we’ve been lucky enough to get an offer of a furnished home to live in. We’ve registered with FEMA now that the area has been deemed a Presidential Disaster area (thanks George!) and we’re already beginning to plan our return.
The last few days have been trying, but the hectic pace of life during this catastrophe has kept our motors running and our spirits high. There’s simply no time to be depressed when you’re going hard all day.
The waters here are expected to crest in the next three days, and then the river will begin its slow recession bank inside its banks. Who knows how many of our neighbors will return or what will become of our new hood, but we plan on moving back and starting the massive rebuilding project that our home now requires.
If you couldn’t tell from the photos, our furniture is gone, the appliances are toast and the interior will need some major work. But our most valuable things are with us, and well–I know it sounds cliche–we’ve got each other and that’s what matters.
Still, even though our spirits are high, I can’t help but wonder what could have been done differently, better, by the officials. I’ve started to document our experiences and our search for answers. For the moment, that footage has given me the chance to let you all see inside our lives. Have a look:
And for more mainstream media coverage of our story, check this Press-Citizen story, this P-C photo, or this more whimsical Des Moines Register photo.
Thank you again to everyone for the well wishes and the offers of help. It means a lot.
Andrew & Liz
June 16, 2008 at 6:56 pm
Thanks for sharing your story with everyone, you guys! You’re helping to give a voice to all your neighbors and the many people across Iowa and the midwest who are in similar situations right now. Our thoughts are with you, and we’ll keep checking in to see what we can do to help in the coming days and weeks.
Good job saving the dartboard, Drew.
Hang in there,
Molly