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Iowa storm damage.
From what we can tell, the massive storm damage in Iowa is not getting much national news coverage. I’m in Cedar Rapids and we have no power, no Internet, limited cell service- and Just devastation everywhere you look. I have no idea if the DM Area or western part of the state has similar damage - we have been too busy just trying to survive to see anything but what little News we can get on our cell phones. We have a 60 foot ash tree into the corner of the house, but we sure are better off than many around us. We’ve been helping our neighbors- they’ve been helping us too. Thanks to the neighbors across the street who had cell service, I was able to snag a 6k generator when they got a notification of a semi with a load of them. Now we can run the fridge, some lights and most importantly fans. Those same neighbors got a do not occupy designation from the fire marshal yesterday. I’ll some post pics later - too tired to figure it out on this phone right now. Sorry for the rambling - now to the point.
What we need - we need you all to spread the word. National News coverage equals more federal assistance. This has impacted far more people than the 2008 flood here in Cedar Rapids.
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By most accounts I've heard Cedar Rapids fared the worst of anyone and the Hwy 30 corridor from Marshalltown eastward recorded the highest wind speeds, some > 100mph. The graphic in this tweet tells the story of the impact pretty well.
We were lucky enough to fare pretty well in our neighborhood, with minimal tree damage, dodged a trampoline and gained a kiddie pool. Other parts of town are comparable to CR.
That Derecho started just South of me and gained a lot of momentum by central Iowa. There are similar reports all the way to Indiana. Derecho are under-rated storms for damage potential, as they can effectively be a F1 tornado several hundred miles long.
I hope the feds step up and get the assistance you certainly need and deserve right now.
This is a composite of that storm as it developed across the midwest. Very scary stuff.
Damage is even visible from space.
I read a couple of articles and could relate to the scary rain and hail we got, but then it was out of mind. The article was about the damage to crops.
Thanks for highlighting it Tom. Wish you well and hope that things get back to normal.
My wife now knows the true meaning of diy. Before we had the generator, I ran to work & got my Led lighting gear. NP-F batteries and some little led light strips will run all night - multiple nights. Perfect for the bathroom!
Then when we had gen power, I pulled one of the led shop lights out of the garage and put it in the kitchen. It’s almost too bright. The neighbors thought we had our power back on!
Not sure if the photos will upload right now, but here’s our damage. Grill still works
ezer  we have money to put into the house and other things. We were just getting estimates on new gutters, soffit facia, and gable ends. Now insurance should pay for a good chunk of it.
Anyone heard from Jim or Ed since Monday?
We were lucky that extreme NE Iowa was spared. I anxiously watched radar for most of the day fearing the worst. We have friends & family in Marshalltown, Cedar Rapids and Knoxville who weren't as lucky. Scary stuff.
I'm not sure if I'm the Jim but I'll fill in our adventure.We were VERY lucky! no trees down and only a few small branches that we picked up out the yard. Electricity was out for about 10 hours but came back on before we had any problems. The North west, north and east side of Des Moines were hit quite hard. My son and Brother In Law still don't have power and several trees down. Were doing fine I'm very happy to say.
Jim
By the time that Derecho came my way it was MASSIVE, and swept from Grand Rapids to down past Indianapolis. We really didn't get much rain here, and the winds were short lived, but just north and south (mainly) of us got hammered. Seems a lot of storms do that, and split both above and below us.
Must be the amount of magnets at my abode repelling the storms....
InDIYana Event Website
I'm in Ames and we had strong winds for about a half hour. We had some small branches down at our house but a rental we own had some large branches down and one put a small hole in the roof so we fared pretty well compared to many. The whole city of 50,000 lost power and currently have about 80% of customers restored. We've been told it may be next week before we get power. My wood shop is in the basement of our rental and it has power so that's where I'm sending this from. One of the power companies said it was like a tornado 40 miles wide that traveled 100 miles. 1/3 of the crops in the state have been damaged. I'm missing the AC today.
Ron
Yep - I was thinking of you Jim. I just now got the phone tethered to my computer - too many other little things to take care of. Like figuring out a temperamental generator and then rigging up a clothes drying rack using the frame from what remains of the patio table. It picked up the glass top and smashed it into the back of the house!
Glad you are both OK!! We had massive damage throughout the city, but only a few people injured and one death that I know of - bicyclist out on a trail South of town.
There were 13 tornadoes in the Chicago area, I was lucky in that the really bad stuff missed me and I only had small banches down,
Sorry to see the mess in Iowa, no power seems to be a theme.
Holy Crap - I had no idea about the tornados! Glad you are OK Nick!!
We could use an electrician like you over here right now. You could make a fortune. Lines down all over the city. Our anchor/neutral snapped when a branch hit it. Now the lines going onto the service are pulled tight and insulation is coming off in chunks. The pipe above the roofline is a little bent!
Damn, was not even aware that these derecho things existed...
We had a tornado pass by us less than 1 mile away. I only had medium sized limbs knocked down (one pretty big one one the roof, luckily no serious damage). A couple blocks away it's REALLY bad. We didn't initially lose power, but it's out now as they make major system repairs around us.
I was just leaving work when it hit. It was so bad I had to pull into a parking lot and take cover. Kept texting the wife to make sure they were all in the basement under my work bench and safe. All ok here sans electrical power...
Where are all those PE deal of the day LED flashlights when I need them LOL!
I'm trying to work less not more, inching toward retirement. The repair to this service on your house won't be that bad, any decent electrician should be able to replace the mast and weather head without too much difficulty. Good luck with the clean up.
For those of you considering a back up generator, I would strongly suggest avoiding Generac. I bought one a decade ago, and it failed in less than two months, and they refused to warranty it.
You guys stay safe up there.
We might get a dozen tornadoes within a thirty mile radius of us each year, but not thirteen in one night. They scare the he77 out of me.
Thank you for this news: although we live in Melbourne, Oz, we have great-nephews in Iowa City and will try to call them to check they're OK.
Geoff
Tornado sirens blaring right now here....
Holy crap Ani! Hope you all are OK!!
This is freakin' insane! It's like the earth is trying to kill us all off a little at a time!
Wow - crazy weather! Stay safe everyone!
In comparison, hurricanes are weak, slow, predictable and can't hold up over land. Yet they get all the airtime.
Don't know if you contacted them yet, but I hear Iowa City had very little damage. Lots of people here in town drove down there to get real food and supplies this week. Looks like Coralville is now the closest bank branch for me that's actually open.