Two Short Years Ago
Everything changed for many Iowans two years ago today. It was not the first time a straight-line wind storm called a derecho struck parts of Iowa…and it has not been the last. But it was a record, and the devastation lingers to this day.
It truly left its mark along and north of U.S. Highway 30 starting in Marshall County. Corn crops were flattened at a crucial growing time, with what should have been a bumper crop reduced to waste in a matter of moments. Barns blown away. Trees shredded. The storm made its way through Tama County, devastating farmers who were already on the margin. It got no better to the east, in Benton County.
The peak of the storm struck the Cedar Rapids metro area…power out, trees destroyed, houses and businesses ripped apart. It would have been at least a category 3 hurricane had it been on the water.
Now, only 24 months later, it both seems like just yesterday…and like eons ago. The recovery has been amazing…in some areas, you wouldn’t know unless you had seen the area before. In others…well, it’s still a too-raw memory.
What is noteworthy is the spirit with which folks came together to help one another. You see it other places, of course, but I still think the Iowa experience is unique. If only we could call upon that at times other than natural disasters and such.
