290 homes ‘severely impacted’ by floods in Hawarden

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – Record flood levels in Hawarden, Iowa, have caused hundreds of people to be displaced from their homes and restricted from safe water.

The City of Hawarden’s Public Works Director Travis Waterman said the Big Sioux River crested at 39 feet, which is five feet higher than its previous 35-foot record. The flood waters covered the city on June 22 after excessive rain in northwestern Iowa and southeastern South Dakota.

“We have about 290 homes that are severely impacted and probably another 100 that had at least water damage in the basement,” Waterman said. “That’s not considering businesses and commercial sheds or stuff like that, that’s just homes.”

The city’s population is about 2,600 people.

The city created a shelter at the high school where 50 people stayed the first night of flooding. Waterman said 65 people used the shelter the second night.

“It’s just kind of been going up and down, depending on if they find other placements with family and friends,” Waterman said.

People will be able to shelter at the school for as long as they need or unless they find another location in the city, Waterman said. The Red Cross and FEMA have also set up camp at the school, along with supplies and portable showers.

“We’ve got one shower unit and another one showing up today because we’re still not able to use our sewer system,” Waterman said. “We have water, but we’re under a boil order, so we’ve got a lot of pots of water we’re handing out to residents.”

The city is hoping to have water and sewage back up and running by the end of the week. Due to the high response from other communities, Hawarden is no longer asking for supplies.

“We had an overwhelming response, I mean, unbelievable,” he said. “We just wanna catch our breath and we’ll reach out if we get low on certain items. It’s been unbelievable. I would have never dreamed we’d have this much help, manual labor, equipment, supplies. It’s just been heartwarming for sure.”

One of Hawaden’s only grocery stores, Sunshine Foods, was also damaged from the floods, causing them to close down for a few days. According to their social media , they got a temporary online ordering system set up through Google Form.

“We are still working hard to get our store up and running for the community,” the store’s Facebook said. “Until that time, we are going to attempt an online grocery ordering system that will allow community members to get the items they need.”

Now that the water has receded and roads in town are back open, Waterman said they have contractors lined up to start hauling away people’s water damaged items. The bridges on the west and north sides of town are still shut down though.

“Some people are getting back in their homes and starting to pump out water and clean,” Waterman said. “We’ve got many people here waiting to help carry stuff out of basements and then the next step is clean up.”

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