This Winneshiek County road, 360th Street, was damaged by flooding during the June 21 FEMA event. (Photo submitted)
Heavy rains swamped multiple Iowa counties on June 21, heavily damaging communities in northwest Iowa and prompting President Joe Biden to declare a major disaster within the state of Iowa a few days later. The declaration released much-needed flood relief funding through the Federal Emergency Management Administration.
“Many people have the mentality of ‘it will never happen here,’ but Iowa ranks fourth in the nation for the most disasters,” Winneshiek County Emergency Management Coordinator Sean Snyder said. “That’s huge. So, that ‘it will never happen here’ mentality has to change, because while it hasn’t happened yet, it will happen sometime, and we’d better be ready for it.”
Snyder indicated the federal flood relief which was made available to affected homeowners in northwest Iowa wasn’t enough — many had lost everything and could not afford to rebuild, prompting some to pack up what little they had and leave their community.
More than 1,000 homes were affected in Clay County alone, according to Snyder. He said about 40 percent of that county’s population — about 6,400 of the 16,000 residents reported by the most recent census data — left because they lost everything and couldn’t afford to rebuild. Snyder said such a loss would be catastrophic to some small county economies like those in Winneshiek County.
“Personal mental health is suffering, and bankruptcies are expected to be astronomical,” Snyder said of northwest Iowa.
The problem isn’t the availability of relief funds but how much each homeowner can expect to receive to help them rebuild, according to Snyder. He said FEMA’s current Individual Assistance payout is $42,500 per household during such an event.
“For example — this is a true story — if you have a $600,000 home, and you’ve made one house payment, and it’s destroyed by a storm or flood, FEMA will send a check for $42,500, if you qualify,” Snyder said. “Without flood insurance, that house was a total loss, and that homeowner still owes the bank about $550,000. Now, you see why these are huge events.”
Snyder said flood waters take time to recede, and a thorough damage assessment cannot take place until it is safe to do so. Iowa towns sustaining the most flooding after June 21 included Spencer, Sioux Rapids, Correctionville and Lake Park, according to FEMA’s website.
The assistance available during a FEMA event is split into two categories: Individual Assistance and Public Assistance. Snyder said Individual Assistance is for property owners, while Public Assistance is designated for government entities and infrastructure.
Snyder said he’s currently assisting with four public assistance applications for FEMA disaster relief funding — Winneshiek County, Winneshiek County Conservation, Spillville and Decorah.
Winneshiek County Engineer Michael Kueny reported the June 21 FEMA event ended July 24, and he said the county is currently compiling data it received from the public pertaining to flood damage incurred during the FEMA event.
“In Winneshiek County, to declare a Public Assistance disaster, I need to exceed roughly $92,322 in damages, and I can’t claim anything that’s covered by insurance,” he said. “Each county has a certain threshold, and it’s based off a per-capita assessment. Then, in order for the state to declare a disaster, it needs to exceed $5.87 million in uncovered damages, and then it’s up to the president to make a disaster declaration for the state. If the state gets it, all the counties that have been included can try for reimbursement of anywhere from 75 to 85 percent of the total cost to repair the damages.”
However, one of the problems Iowa’s emergency management coordinators face, Snyder said, is convincing Iowa’s residents to document and report all the damages they see — regardless of what kind of category it falls under. The next challenge is to convince local and county officials that investing in preparedness is essential.
“In emergency management, I deal in unknowns,” Snyder said. “Money is tight everywhere, so how do I convince the people holding the purse strings that they need to invest in preparedness, but I can’t guarantee when they’re going to need it?”
Snyder said that’s why documentation is key.
“You have to have documentation, and you have to push to get what you need, because money is tight everywhere,” he said. “If you don’t document and submit it, it’s a missed opportunity.”
To help government employees better understand what type of documentation is needed for the county to submit a claim for FEMA relief dollars, Snyder is hosting a community discussion at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 6, at the county shop in Freeport. Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Disaster Recovery Specialist Makaria Kirianov will present information about what types of data HSEMD needs from county employees.
“As a team, we need to do everything we can to collect documentation, so we have every chance to recoup available relief funding,” Snyder said. “There’s a misnomer that if you’re getting FEMA money, the government is printing new bills just for that emergency. But, FEMA’s relief funds are tax dollars that are already set aside and waiting to be spent on disaster relief. Out of all the things our tax dollars are used for, this is one of the better ones in my opinion.”
Snyder said anyone who finds storm damage of any kind can submit it themselves to report-ia-state.orioncentral.com, which is the same site he uses to report damages to Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
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