Oakville Plant Life

It is surprising what vegetation survived the flooding. Below is a peach tree my father planted and there are several peaches on it though they are only the size of walnuts. It doesn't seem to have been affected but the peaches won't be used for eating.

Lilacs are a different issue. It seems that none of the flowering bushes survived if they were under water for any length of time.

Some things that definitely survived and are thriving are the weeds. A few yards have been mowed or had the weeds knocked down. We will have to do this shortly.

Oakville Housing Inspections

Nearly all of Oakville's 180+ residences were recently inspected. Each was supposed to be evaluated for their appraised value before the flood versus the amount of damage each had. If the damage amount was 50% or greater, the home was considered suitable for demolition.

It was estimated about 60% or around 110 met the fifty percent damage threshold. About 50 mobile homes or manufactured housing units, every one in town, were considered destroyed.

My parents had a trailer next to the house my dad had put in place when my grandparents moved to town about 35 years ago. He had expanded it when they moved to a house in town and some of my sisters had moved in. The trailer, which was only used for storage now, didn't budge in the flood waters, probably because of the addition. Most of the others in town were moved from their pads by the current.

My sister and brother-in-law owned the mobile home shown below, though no one lived in it at the time of the flooding. It swung 90 degrees from its original position and leaned over. The metal panels on the side were ripped by the flow.

The town has received grants to remove all of the mobile homes. Property owners must sign documents for the process to start. There was a trailer park in the northeast part of town and all of the mobile homes have been demolished. The contractors are removing 2-4 of these per day.

My parent's house, the one we have been working on, is one that has been designated for demolition. We have yet to see the damage assessment so we don't know what has been determined to put it on the list. My sister and brother-in-law's house has also been designated for demolition, though it didn't have the order placed on the structure. I was told we could protest the assessment though we don't have enough information to consider at this time.

I spoke to one man whose son was repairing his house when it was tagged as unsafe. They were waiting for more information to determine what they would do.

Oakville Looting

Three women were arrested for allegedly looting homes in Oakville. Police found wiring, electical equipment and other items that had been placed in their pickup truck. The women were found hiding under the staircase in a house they did not occupy.

Cedar Rapids has reported burglaries on homes damaged in the flooding. Most neighborhoods do not have anyone living in them so no one can watch out for others. Copper wires and piping are popular items for stealing.

Illinois Disaster Videos

The Hawkeye (Burlington, IA) paper has an aerial roundup of flooding throughout southeastern Iowa and western Illinois. Residents of Gulfport, IL hope they will be able to enter their homes sometime this weekend since the flood waters from the Mississippi are finally pumped out.

While Oakville had 4-10 feet of water in town, Gulfport had 10-15 feet of water. It has been two months since their levee broke and residents will get their first look at the damage to their homes.

Some Iowa Disaster Videos

About three weeks before the town of Oakville, Iowa was flooded, on May 25, an EF5 tornado struck towns in northern Iowa. The torrential rain that accompanied the storm contributed to the floods later. Below is a security video of a bank in Parkersburg showing the tornado hitting.

A resident of Parkersburg captured tornado footage and pictures then created this video from them. Seven people died from the storm.

Another person posted a video containing various flood and storm pictures from northeast Iowa and set them to music.

On June 11, a tornado struck a Boy Scout camp in western Iowa and killed four scouts. This is the storm that dropped torrential rain in northern Iowa, up to 8 inches overnight, that exacerbated the dangerous flood conditions. Iowa has had a year it doesn't want to experience again.

Forget Bigfoot, Alligator Found in Iowa Floodwaters

Methodist Church Assistance

The associate pastor, Scott Smith, of the Oakville United Methodist Church has posted several videos of the work he and others have done in town at the Council Bluffs Salem United Methodist Church channel on YouTube. The video below is the first impression members of the church had when they entered town.

Council Bluffs is located about 300 miles away on the other side of Iowa. Two (actually three) rivers form the western and eastern borders of the state. The Missouri and Mississippi Rivers are the main boundaries (with the Big Sioux River being the third in the northwest border with South Dakota). The video below lets you know some ways you can assist the residents in their recovery.

You can also go to the official Iowa flood assistance site for links on how to help.

Outside of Town

Earlier I posted a picture of the break in Highway 99 just as it exits Oakville.

The break was repaired quite a while ago here by Iowa DOT and Louisa county road crews.

Further south, at the intersection of Highway 99 and the Pumping Station Road, there is another break that has not been repaired yet. It is located in Des Moines county which has created a bypass around the break for now.

The flood had surrounded a hog confinement.

Now, the confinement is on dry land and the green surrounding it is actually soybeans farmers had planted to try to get a crop this year. If the land had dried enough, farmers did try to mitigate their losses. One of the risks they take is the cool summer that may not allow the crops to mature before the frost kills the plants.

Some farms are filled with sand from the levee the river washed into them. These fields may have to get the sand removed before farming can occur. I spoke to a farmer who had two feet of sand on some of his fields.

A line of trees has all of the lower branches looking dead while the upper ones that were spared much water still green.

Many ditches have debris and trash in them. This could have been moved from any place above the town.

There have been a series of meetings with residents of both the town and farmland. Farmers are concerned if buyouts happen they will not be able to till the ground. The buyouts are only for homes and when the buildings are torn down the land is to be used for green space purposes which include farming.

Oakville Buyout Option *Updated*

*Updated* 8/9/2008

It was reported that Oakville residents who gave notices of intent to seek a buyout had filled out incorrect forms. The correct forms also require a damage inspection by someone who the city or a disaster representative appoints. The inspections and new forms must be filled out and sent in before a September 12, 2008 deadline. The city also has to fill out paperwork for the process to proceed.

*End Update*

The city council unanimously voted Wednesday, Aug. 6, to allow residents to pursue the buyout option for their homes. Nearly 90 homeowners had notices of intent to seek a buyout presented to the council. There are less than 190 homes in the entire town. The council had to approve the process in order for the option to become available.

A resident does not have to take the buyout even if it is offered. There are several residents who are rebuilding their homes and a few are almost ready for occupancy. Water and sewer have not yet been restored to residences so living in the homes will be difficult until that happens. Electricity and gas services have been restored but each house has to be inspected by licensed contractors before the utilities can be turned back on.

This does not mean that the houses and businesses will be bought out, only that the option can be pursued. The state of Iowa now has to approve the buyout option and then FEMA. Anyone of these can not allow the option to continue. If FEMA turns it down, the state can take it on themselves though that is less likely to occur.

Several other Iowa cities, including Iowa City, Palo, Vinton, and Cedar Rapids are looking to buy homes that have been too heavily damaged for residents to return. Cedar Rapids had 20% of its residents displaced in the flood and over 10,000 homes damaged as well as much of the downtown businesses. This much damage across such a wide area has strapped the state of many funding options.

Animals in the Flood

Oakville and farmland were flooded. Livestock was also affect. The farms had over 40,000 hogs in the area. Nearly 37,000 were moved in less than a week. Some were sold at market while others were trucked up to 400 miles away to other farms. Semi-trucks were moving night and day transporting livestock and grain.

The hog confinement below was emptied of animals before being inundated by the water.

Not all of the animals were able to be moved. If a sow had piglets, they would fight moving. Many farmers opened pens to allow the ones they could not move a chance at survival. In this PBS video (warning, graphic video), a local farmer goes back to see his farm and animals he had to leave behind. While some survived, most drowned in the disaster.

Below is a picture that my nephew, who raises hogs, contends are pig tracks in the yard. More were found in various sheds on the property.

There were several animal rescue groups that arrived on scene and captured animals. Over 60 pigs were taken to other states and given refuge on a sanctuary farm.

Other animal groups focused on pets.

Most people had little problems with the groups and thanked them for rescuing pets they had left behind in their haste to leave when the levee broke. Some reported a few rescuers were using subterfuge to try to enter properties.

I was also told an organization is looking to sue farmers whose animals died in the floods for not getting all of them out in time. I would only want to know why this organization didn't bring trucks to assist farmers before the flood occurred to save the animals.

Those Who Assisted

Volunteers from many areas of the country have helped in town. Many church groups, including Southern Baptist, Presbyterian, Apostolic and Methodist from all over the country, have assisted homeowners to clean up debris. I have seen trailers from Georgia, Texas, Missouri, Indiana and Kentucky, to name some, in town.

News articles from Pennsylvania and Mississippi portray volunteers who have come to town. One city in Mississippi, D'lberville which was struck by Hurricane Katrina, has sent donations and volunteers to help Oakville recover. I was told some will "adopt" a home and help rebuild it.

As far as the folk's home, family has been the source of all of the work. Many brothers and sisters, some nephews and nieces and in-laws have been hard at it to accomplish what has been done. There are several out-buildings that need to be cleaned out and either repaired or torn down.

Volunteers are better used for those who do not have anyone to help them. There are several older people who can't do the work of cleaning up who need their help more than we do. Well over half the homes have been completed. Some homes may just be torn down due to the damage they incurred.

The house below has been stripped to its studs and roof to get rid of the damage.

Inside Before and After

Below are the before and after pictures inside the shop and house. A bleach solution is sprayed on all of the surfaces in order to kill mold.

The Shop.

The Bedroom.

The Living Room.

The Craft Room.

The Bathroom.

The Dining Room.

Outside Before and After

Below are before and after pictures of the house and garage.

Birds are still nesting on the ledges just beneath the roofline. They are also still feeding on the seeds.

We found quite a few frogs and salamanders living in the garage. In the lower picture you can see some of the mud that was scooped out of the garage and placed in a hole in the driveway.

Oakville Council Meeting 7-02-2008

The HawkEye newspaper (Burlington, Iowa) has a video of the July 2, 2008 Oakville City Council meeting discussing the issues affecting the residents. The video has recorded damage to the town as well.

Sandbagging Efforts

This video was taken by an Iowa National Guard member who helped the sandbagging effort south of Oakville after the levee near Oakville had failed.

This video was not taken in Oakville, but shows the work that residents and volunteers put in to try to keep the waters out of their homes and property.

The HawkEye has a video of Oakville sandbagging on YouTube. Other YouTube videos about the Oakville floods can be found here.

Iowa flood videos here.

Illinois flood videos here.

Wisconsin flood videos here.

Missouri flood videos here.

Indiana flood videos here.