The 1,000-Year Flood.
Stephen J. Lyons.
Description
The 1,000 Year Flood describes a historical flood event that occurred in 2008. it's a local look at the flooding in the Midwest. From the draining of Lake Delton in Wisconsin Dells to the over-flooded neighborhood of Time Check in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, this book encompasses both the financial and emotional affects of flooding. The book's author Stephen J. Lyons was a frequent visitor to Cedar Rapids throughout his childhood. Thus, he gives us a very close look at what happens to a Midwestern town before, during, and after a large flood event.
Analysis
Most of Stephen Lyons' book consists of personal accounts of the flood. He interviews Troy and Beverly Simon, a resident couple living in Cedar Rapids. Their home of thirteen years was destroyed by the flood that came through. The total rainfall for the month of June that year summed up to 8.95 inches. If you think about that amount, 10 feet doesn't seem like much in terms of a swimming pool or the height of a building. But if you imagine your whole neighborhood in that 10ft deep swimming pool, suddenly things are different. At that depth of water, entire sections of houses can float away. Troy and Beverly recall that the previous winter had heavy snowfall and some minor flooding. They didn't think it meant that their entire life would be swept away when flood season came around.
Lyons also discussed the people who had major roles in the flood recovery. A man named Chad Pregracke has been cleaning up the Mississippi River his entire life. In 1997, he earned a grant and started cleaning up the river by himself. He managed to collect 45,000 pounds of trash within a 100 mile stretch. This lead to public recognition and the grounds to start the Living Lands and Waters organization. It's a non-profit mainly run through a crew of houseboats that travel along the Mississippi and help out during flood season. If any flood event occurs around the Mississippi River, Chad will mostly likely be there with his boats and crew cleaning up.
Another man who had a pivotal role in the Cedar Rapids flood recovery was Christian Fong. Christian is the president and CEO of Corridor Recovery. It's a volunteer based organization that was the primary resource of information during the floods in 2008. It was estimated that it would take an entire decade for Iowa to recover with the finances and other tools provided by the government alone. Christian's organization helped speed up the recovery process. You could contact him personally via Twitter, a blog, flickr, and texting. As an Iowa born native, Christian took a lot of responsibility with the position he had to help and assist his fellow Iowa residents. He also capitalized on a lot of resources that were already set in place. For example, a faith community as better networking than most. Everybody knows each other and has a way to contact one another. Christian had people knocking on each others doors to warn them of the flooding and how to prepare. Another group that arose was the Serve the City organization. Christian partnered up with them and together both organizations helped keep the Cedar Rapids' residents as updated as possible with flood information.
Lyons also discussed some fascinating ideas that came up surrounding the flood event in Cedar Rapids. The term “economic cleansing” especially caught his attention. As soon as the city went into recovery mode, those who wanted to make money off of the damages moved in. Rent went up, properties were being purchased for very little and then put on the market for a high price. The neighborhood of Time Check is a good example of what happens during “economic cleansing”. Many viewed the neighborhood as a financially crumbling place. The truth is, the people have lived there so long, the houses have been paid off for years and the true owner's identity is unclear. The people who lived in these types of homes refuse to ask for government assistance and they end up living in tents because their home is damaged and nothing will be done about it.
This brings us to another person with an important role in the flood recovery phase. Frank King, the president of the Northwest Neighbors group, lives in the Time Check neighborhood. He volunteered his house as a place to stay for those who had lost their homes. Their rent was free in exchange for doing repairs to fix his home. Frank is Time Check's protector, he knows everyone who lives there and isn't afraid to speak his mind about what the neighborhood deserves. One of his primary issues is with the amount of spending going into downtown Cedar Rapids while Time Check continues to disintegrate. He believes it has to do with the “economic cleansing” issue. If the city isn't acting quickly to help Time Check, it means they want the place to be sold out and bought again so the “cleansing” can begin.
An interesting concept that Lyons discussed was called the training effect. In his book he states “The training effect – the concentration of heavy rain repeatedly hitting the same area – is what led to so many new rainfall records in the Midwest” (Lyons, 8). If you consider the weather patterns for the Midwest, especially within the last ten years, this theory makes sense. We are repeatedly hit by flooding in similar areas. This is further enforced from the most recent flood in October of 2010. This training effect idea just helps explain why the Midwest deals with the same continuous weather conditions year after year. After all, weather is a big cycle in itself.
Every person had their own story in this book, making it an appealing read about something so devastating. It was a good look into the heads of people affected by mass amounts of flooding.
Appraisal
The 1,000 Year Flood is a very descriptive account of the types of hazards that can occur close to home. It gives us a look at how even the most recent flooding in September of 2010 affected the lives of the people in the Midwestern area of the United States. The 1,000 Year Flood shows us how a community can work together to recover from such a disaster. You can't always depend on the government system. In addition, many of the resources you need are right under your feet in the people who are willing to step up and the organizations that are standing by to assist.
