Iowa Flooding

Heather Cooper · **Voice Talent** Joined: 25 Apr 2006 Posts: 472

Hi everyone,

This is not really voice related. However, the following is from my agent who is originally from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I wanted to post this email so people don't forget too quickly about the devastation that hit Iowa. She sent an email last week to her friends asking for prayers for her family and friends that live in Cedar Rapids. This is an update from this morning.

Thank you so much for your prayers. They have started to let some neighborhood back in to see their homes, but it has been a long process. Each person must wait for someone to inspect the house (for their own safety) before they can go in. There are lines of 100's of people just waiting to see. Tensions were getting high. My uncle still has been unable to get into his business & I think it will be quite a while before downtown businesses get to go into theirs. The saddest part is just trying to wrap my brain around the recovery. The residential areas that were hit were mostly low income. They had so little to begin with & now they have nothing & no means to start over with. Most of these homes & businesses had no flood insurance. My uncle has a video production company downtown. Authorities miss calculated the flood water by 10 feet. My family helped put all the equipment & videos/job from the past 30 yrs of business up on the 2nd floor, in buckets stacked on tables near the ceiling, well above where authorities recommended. They lost everything. $100,000's of equipment, videos of weddings, graduations, etc that can never be replaced. By the time they realized how "off" their predictions were they had only an hour to try to get things out & by that point the water was so high only certain vehicles were able to make it there. Government offers low rate loans to business to help rebuild, but nothing is there to help with the existing loans that still need to paid even though the business & income is gone. He also owned 7 rental properties, all gone. If the house was your primary home the government will give you $29,000 to rebuild. How does that help when you are still paying a mortgage on a house that no longer exists??? I just can't wrap my brain around it. My uncle is 60 and was looking to retire, his son just quit his job 2 weeks ago in Chicago to move back to CR & start helping ease him into retirement & help with the family business. I'm sick for them.
But on the bright side, everyone is safe. To date there have only been 2 deaths related to the floods in Iowa. I pray that clean up will go quick & disease will not become an issue with the mess. (My best friend just took the job of Director of Public Health for the region 1 month ago...talk about baptism by fire!) It was looking as if they may lose all clean water, but as of yesterday the 1 well that was left had caught back up to 50% so they should be able to be back to regular showers, flushing & laundry by the end of the week! Adam's(my brother who does our website) house was to be the next street to be evacuated...it never made it! Smile

So, all in all everything will be fine. My mom is going to the community college today to help clean & feed the 1000 pets that have been brought there to safety. The whole community is opening their arms to anyone & everyone effected, it's just the way people are there. It's going to be a long process but if you had to go thru a natural disaster, there would be no place better than my home town!
I will keep ya updated as I am trying to organize a fund raiser. Waiting on info, my husbands company often will match all donations. Might need some organizational help once I get the details. Thanks for your concern & prayers. It means so much! Have a good day- April

NOW TALENT MANAGEMENT
April Schroeder
www.nowtalentonline.com

Maxine Dunn · **Voice Talent** Joined: 25 Apr 2004 Posts: 675

Dear Heather,

Thank you so much for this letter ~ I have been praying and thinking about everyone in Iowa who has been affected by these floods and my heart goes out to them.

There are no words I can offer to help ease the pain of the lost houses and belongings and businesses, but to be alive and safe is such a blessing.

I know that God can work miracles. With our combined prayers and the strength of the communities and people who have been hit so hard by Mother Nature, the healing and rebuilding will come. Let us know you plans for a fund raiser and I’m sure the people in the voice-over community will help in any way we can.

I’m sending blessings and prayers of comfort to you and your family, and to everyone who lost so much in these floods. trösten

Maxine

Diane Havens · **Voice Talent** Joined: 09 Jun 2006 Posts: 1281

My thoughts and prayers are with all those affected,

Connie Terwilliger · **Voice Talent** Joined: 14 Jul 2003 Posts: 409

Yes - thanks for the update. I went to college at Coe in Cedar Rapids - and have been on the phone to many friends who are still there - it is unbelievably shocking. The ramifications will echo far beyond CR.

Craig Koepke · **Voice Talent** Joined: 31 Dec 2006 Posts: 422

Thanks for thinking of us. I live in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls, Iowa area. My job is in jeapordy as a railroad bridge in Waterloo and another railroad bridge in Cedar Rapids were taken down. Our line depends on both bridges for operation. Maybe I will be going full time voice over sooner than expected?

The devastation was monumental! We in the Cedar Falls...Cedar Rapids area are just getting a glimpse of the extent of the damage as the water receeds. Far worse than any of us imagined. The people's spirit around here has been in shock. On Memorial Day weekend an F-5 tornado took out our neighbors in Parkersburg just 20 miles west of the Cedar Falls area. So much travesty in so little space of time. It's one thing to see the natural disaster's on t.v. and think to bad for them and another to be looking at them face to face.

83 of the 99 counties in Iowa have been declared disaster areas from the floods.

Oh, and the tornado that took out a boy scout camp in western Iowa where 4 were killed. Picture of the twister attached.

Well, as everyone else who suffers from natural disasters, we here in Iowa carry on and pick up the pieces. Time is the great healer of pain.

Craig

Heather Cooper · **Voice Talent** Joined: 25 Apr 2006 Posts: 472

Craig,

Thank you for sharing your story. I will keep you and your family in my prayers as well. I can not imagine what it must like for everyone in the State of Iowa. I was very glad that my friend shared what was happening to her family. It is hard to comprehend a situation as devastating as what in happening in Iowa when you aren't there to see it in person.
Please keep us all posted and stay safe!!!

Pray

Heather Cooper · **Voice Talent** Joined: 25 Apr 2006 Posts: 472

Here is another update from my friend April. The portion about FEMA blows my mind! LA still has not recovered from Katrina... how could they think people didn't still need certain items!!

UPDATE:

Thanks for checking in. Tensions are getting high. It is taking MUCH longer than expected to let people back to their homes. Damage is much worse than they had hoped & areas are too dangerous still to let a lot of people back. As they are inspecting, basements are collapsing causing houses to cave in & yards to sink. But as you can imagine people who have been living in gyms & churches for a week, don't care. They just want to see their home. They want to try & salvage what little may be unaffected, before the mold & mildew ruins what is left. People are also starting to find out their insurance does not cover what they thought it did, that the government offers nothing but low interest loans to businesses wishing to rebuild & very little $ to those who lost their homes. There are 1000 misplaced animals at the Community College. But even if families know they are there, they have no where to take them too. Water supply is coming back up so that is good news. Although it will take SO long to get around to all the individual wells in small towns & on farms, they are afraid people are going to get impatient, assume things are fine & we will be dealing w/ a lot of sickness. 83-89 (i keep hearing different figures) of the 99 counties in Iowa are now declared disaster areas. As of right now it is still too dangerous to even start major clean up. As things start to open up I'm sure we have a better idea as to what we can do to help. Jeff & I are speaking w/ Cooper re: their fund raising matching programs. I have been researching different groups that are there for relief, try to see who we can help the most. I read this morning that the Iowa Red Cross is already out of $ & is borrowing. (I didn't know it was possible for the Red Cross to run out of $!) Clean up hasn't even started....We are getting info re: not only best way to use monetary, but best distribution for supplies donated, personal care items, household items, building tools & supplies, there really is nothing they do not need. If you have ANY ideas, supplies or connections to anyone who may have these things please let me know!!! I just saw a story on CNN about how FEMA had a warehouse full of millions of $'s of brand new supplies that had been bought for Katrina victims. They said they didn't think anyone needed them anymore, so rather than paying for the storage space they gave it all away to government employees!!!!!! It made me to cry see pictures of all the brand new stuff that people need so bad just given away. All in all, everyone is safe & most are staying in good spirits. Small businesses are starting meetings on Thursday to discuss rebuilding plans & see how they can help each other get back in business in temporary locations if at all possible. That's about all I know at this point. Thanks for your continued prayers for them all. I will keep you updated.
Love & Miss you all- April