Victims see progress and pain three months after historic flooding

Jeanne Derby’s home in the Riverside neighborhood of Sioux City was substantially damaged when the Big Sioux River poured out of its banks on June 24.

Even though it will take some time before she can move back into the home — she was thankful for all the support she and other flood victims received.

“I can't believe I'm still so emotional over this,” Derby said. “The community came together — when I didn't have clothes, people dropped clothes off. People dropped shoes off, and people I didn't know showed up to help tear my walls off. It was amazing,”

Deanna Mercure, another resident of the Riverside neighborhood, said she took out a home equity loan to help cover all the expenses associated with the natural disaster damage to her house.

“It was rough, and it still is. It's been the longest three months of my life," Mercure said. "I was just devastated, thinking, 'What am I going to do? I don't want to leave this house.' And it just all fell in place with everybody that stepped up.”

Mercure received $26,000 from FEMA to help with home repairs and hoped to secure another $50,000 in state funding.

"I have lived here 21 years — never had this flood like this," Mercure said. "I lost everything in my house: floors, walls. And it was just devastating. But I had good people that helped me out."

Both women praised the work of local volunteer Megen Noll, who went door-to-door assisting residents. Noll and other members of the Junior League of Sioux City also helped operate a disaster recovery center at Riverside's Lutheran New Hope Community Church.

“We had all these donated supplies, so we made sure they had everything they needed for cleanup,” Noll said. “I'm from a small town, so in a small town, you do that. You all come together. But in this city, all came together. And that was so amazing to see because I've never seen anything like it in a big city. So, I think that's just a testament to everybody, all the organizations, the volunteers. It was truly amazing.”

During the process, a local nonprofit — the Community Action Agency — offered Noll a job as a disaster case manager.

“So, I am blessed to work with all these people every day and help them any way we can,” Noll said.

The Community Action Agency also organized a Long Term Recovery Group with other nonprofits to connect flood victims with much-needed services. Executive Director Jean Logan said the organization, along with the Salvation Army, processed $250,000 in direct aid to households in Woodbury and Plymouth counties and Union County in South Dakota through the Siouxland Recovery Fund .

“I think I'd like to also make sure that we know that the depth of this damage was much more than just a couple of communities,” Logan said. “It's been really our honor to be able to reach out to families and to build those relationships through Megen."

So far, FEMA has approved more than $3 million for 325 households in Woodbury County.

The deadline to apply for individual assistance from FEMA is Oct. 22 for several Iowa counties impacted by natural disasters this summer. This includes: Buena Vista, Cherokee, Clay, Dickinson, Emmet, Humboldt, Lyon, Monona, O'Brien, Osceola, Palo Alto, Plymouth, Pottawattamie, Scott, Sioux, and Woodbury counties.