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CWS situation report: Iowa flooding and tornadoes

June 20, 2007

More than 1,200 Iowa families have sought individual assistance following a late May flood in the western part of the state. Cass, Dallas, Fremont, Harrison, Ida, Mills, Montgomery, Page, Pottawattamie, Shelby, Taylor and Union Counties received federal disaster declarations. Early damage estimates indicated at least 67 homes were destroyed and 59 sustained major damage following torrential rains May 5 that swelled creeks and rivers in the Missouri Valley.

On June 1, tornadoes struck the eastern Iowa towns of Grandview in Louisa County and Muscatine and Fruitland in Muscatine County. The tornadoes have destroyed or seriously damaged hundreds of homes and left many Iowa families homeless. FEMA preliminary damage assessments indicated Louisa County had seven homes destroyed and six major, and Muscatine County with 32 destroyed, 22 major, and another 147 minor. Further north Jackson County had six homes with major damages.

VULNERABLE COMMUNITY WATCH: Western Iowa is one of the state’s poorest regions, with 57 percent of affected homeowners considered low income, and 3 percent having homeowner insurance that will cover the flooding. Most of the declared counties have poverty levels above the state's 10.5 percent rate. Additionally, Iowa's rich agricultural base depends on migrant labor that often proves most affected, and most difficult to reach, following a disaster.

By comparison, in eastern Iowa 54 percent of the homeowners are considered low income, but 76 percent have insurance that is anticipated to cover tornado loss.

CWS RESPONSE: Church World Service Disaster Response and Recovery Liaison Tom Davis has maintained close consultation with Lutheran Disaster Response and United Methodist counterparts who report that long-term recovery committees, largely comprised of interfaith efforts, are forming in the Missouri Valley (Harrison County) and Griswold (Cass County) areas in response to the flooding.

Media Contact:
Lesley Crosson, CWS/New York, 212-870-2676;
Jan Dragin, 781-925-1526;

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