BBC finds connections between Katrina, Cedar Rapids disasters

The sphere of those unaware of the heartache that remains in Cedar Rapids has gotten a little bit smaller.

For those who glimpse daily reminders of what remains in flood-impacted neighborhoods in Cedar Rapids, such as the message left on this K Avenue NW home, recovery or even "normalcy" is beginning to feel like an unattainable goal. (Photo: Lynda Waddington/The Iowa Independent)

Crews with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) spent time in Cedar Rapids to document the progress that has been made and the challenges that still remain two years following an unprecedented flood.

What the BBC discovered is what residents and business owners have known for some time: Strict regulations instituted in the wake of Hurricane Katrina have hampered, and in some stances stalled, recovery efforts in Iowa.

… The business community is barely surviving. Many are saddled with inflated debt and left with shrunken savings. The initial approach of self-reliance has left lasting consequences.

Some people took out private loans early on, to reopen stores and keep their customers, and intended them to be a buffer until federal money would repay them for their losses.

But now many have become familiar with the term ‘duplication of benefits’ – meaning they will not receive federal assistance after all.

“The government says ‘because you initially helped yourself we won’t help you’”, says Nancy Kasparek, president of US Bank in Cedar Rapids.

Many people in Cedar Rapids say they have felt the ripple effects of Hurricane Katrina, 1,100 miles down the Mississippi River in New Orleans.

“Their disaster has become our disaster,” says Greg Eyerly, Flood Recovery Director of the city…

Federal policies put in place post-Katrina to combat fraud and possible misappropriation of disaster funds have slowed and, at times, stopped assistance from flowing to property owners and business owners. As The Iowa Independent reported earlier this month, one of the pieces that has patience running especially thin is the residential buyout program.

Some residents have waited months — many after having watching their flooded home be demolished by the city — without receiving official buyout offers or payments. Although the federal dollars were obligated and awarded to the state for the buyouts more than a year ago, there was no existing system in place to process the more than 1,000 properties — and no clear federal agency in charge of setting guidelines. The result has been system that has been subject to starts and stops since it was being developed as it was being used.

When the flood water receded, it left behind both resilience and uncertainty. Officials claim they gave information as up-to-date as possible about what assistance would be available and to whom, but they could not foresee the myriad of changes and adjustments that would be made at the federal level. Regardless of the reason for the changes, the situation has led to significant distrust between those needing to access assistance and those who serve as gatekeepers.

Politicians at all levels have served up their fair share of vague platitudes for the process. They speak mostly of progress and leave what remains to be done primarily as a necessary, if unwilling, acknowledgment. After all, no one really wants to dwell on the fact that some reopened businesses barely exist month-to-month or that elderly residents have died while waiting on promised assistance to arrive.

For those who continue to wait, the uncertainty continues and the distrust grows. Statewide politicians campaign on the economy and jobs, insisting that changes must be made if the state wants to prosper. Yet questions about how and if such changes will impact the already fragile and lengthy processes of flood recovery go unanswered.

What the city needs most is for more people to see, hear and understand the challenges it continues to face — and to not forget.