In September, record flooding forced more than 10,000 Cedar Rapids, Iowa, residents to evacuate their homes and businesses. The Cedar River water levels exceeded 22 feet — a full six feet above major flood stage — deluging fields and properties in the area. It comes on the heels of a fatal Louisiana flood that affected 60,000 homes and took the lives of 13 people.
Spanning thousands of acres, the flooding was caused by an unbelievable amount of rain — two feet in three days — starting in August. Rivers overflowed, with stream depths remaining above flood stage for as many as 10 days. But even as waters begin to recede, residents faced an uphill journey to recovery.
