Hawarden continues cleanup after Big Sioux flood

HAWARDEN, Iowa (KCAU) – It has been a chaotic two weeks for the city of Hawarden, but officials are keeping their heads up as cleanup continues throughout the community.

“We’re starting to show signs that we’re getting close to the end of, but every day there seems to be more of it showing up,” said Hawarden city administrator Gary Tucker.

Now that the floodwaters have receded, Hawarden is in the process of cleaning up the piles of items cleaned out of residents’ homes.

“It was shocking, visibly, to go through town and see all the piles of things that have been destroyed,” said Mayor Larry Gregg. “Even once you pick up a pile from a house there might be another pile there in another day or two, so the cleanup will continue as long as it’s needed.”

With 35 displaced residents lodging at West Sioux high school, the city recognizes the other issues that await after cleanup is finished.

“We’ve been involved so heavily in crisis management at this point, but we need to sit down and talk heavily about relocating assets, relocating homes, we really haven’t had that discussion at this point, but we’ll need to in the near future,” said Tucker.

Looking at long-term solutions, the city is focusing on ways to keep people in Hawarden.

“We want to do everything in our power to find ways to assist them and get back to a normal life at some point,” said Tucker. “We don’t want to lose one resident over this. We want to make sure that they have the ability to stay in the community and continue to live here, and their kids continue to go to school here.”

But throughout the chaos, the community has already proven why Hawarden is a special place to be.

“People have been bringing food, offering lodging, it’s been amazing to see the city come together,” said Mayor Gregg. “That’s what we expected would happen because that’s what Hawarden does.”

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