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.