Iowa Congressional Delegation Supports Expected Federal Disaster Request for Flooded Areas

Washington, D.C.  – Rep. Steve King, Sen. Chuck Grassley, Sen. Joni Ernst, Rep. Rod Blum, Rep. David Young, and Rep. Dave Loebsack sent a letter to Governor Terry Branstad supporting the State of Iowa in its response and recovery efforts underway for the severe weather and flooding event starting September 21^st.

The delegation states in the letter, “The State of Iowa and its federal partners have coordinated well to mitigate the impact of this flooding; however, much remains to be done. While we do not yet have a clear picture of the full scope of the damage, assessments are underway, and we will soon know more about the extent of the impact of these weather events. The initial damage assessment reports have been sobering, though losses may have been even greater and more devastating if not for the outstanding efforts made by the emergency managers of each of the affected counties, and we would like to recognize and thank them for their commendable work.”

Iowans are smart, hardworking and resilient people working diligently to put their lives back together. The delegation wishes to express their full and undivided support for any request made by the Governor to the President to declare the affected areas a federal disaster, should final damage assessments prove that such a request is justified.

To view the original letter, click here.

The text follows:

October 7, 2016

Governor Terry Branstad
Office of the Governor
1007 East Grand Avenue
Des Moines, IA 50319

Dear Governor Branstad,

As you well know, severe weather and flooding, starting on the evening September 21^st of this year, has affected nearly one-third of Iowa. This disaster has damaged homes, businesses, agricultural land and resources and disrupted the lives and livelihoods of thousands.

The weather events on September 21st and September 22nd included torrential rainfall, with as much as 10 inches of rain falling in one location within a few hours, localized flash flooding, damaging winds, hail, and at least one tornado. Areas directly affected by severe flooding include, but are not limited to, nearly the entirety of the Upper Mississippi River Basin in Iowa. More specifically, this includes flooding within the Coon-Yellow Watershed, the Upper Iowa Watershed, the Turkey Watershed, the Grant-Little Maquoketa Watershed, the Upper Wapsipinicon Watershed, the Shell Rock Watershed, and the majority of the Cedar River Basin, including areas along the Iowa River in the Upper Iowa and Middle Iowa watersheds. This unprecedented flooding resulted in a record crest of the Shell Rock River at Greene and Shell Rock, 1.1 feet above the previous record crest set in 2008.

The State of Iowa and its federal partners have coordinated well to mitigate the impact of this flooding. We appreciate the many updates throughout the response and now during the recovery process. However, we know much remains to be done.

While we do not yet have a clear picture of the full scope of the damage, we know that the joint damage assessments are underway. The initial damage assessment reports have been sobering, though losses may have been dramatically greater and more devastating if not for the outstanding efforts made by the state, cities, and county emergency managers of the affected areas. We would like to recognize and thank everyone for their commendable work.

As the smart, hardworking, resilient people of Iowa work diligently to put their lives back together and move forward, we express our full and undivided support for any request that you may make of the President to declare these areas a federal disaster, should final damage assessments prove that such a request is justified.

Sincerely,