The bottoms (the strip of land between the levees and the hills) between Burlington and the village of Oakville are being evacuated as the levees are threatened and perhaps breached. Lots of rumors are floating around about the levees being breached, like river debris caught in the current of speculation, concern and perhaps no small amount of voyeurism.
In Burlington itself more businesses than homes are being threatened as flood waters in the downtown area are rising by the minute. That is of some comfort, but the loss or disruption of one's livelihood is just as devastating as losing one's home. One major community event has been curtailed which means huge losses to the local economy and the many vendors who rely on the summer fair season for their livelihood. Another is threatened today by more rain. It's what Maureen Doherty (Vicar of St Andrew's, Waverly) and I talked about last week, there are many layers to this disaster. It's not just the flood waters and its damage, there's what happens as a result added to what was going on even before the rains came.
So here is one of those stories. I received a call late yesterday afternoon from a Christ Church family who have been moving their belongings over the last two days all by themselves. They are an older couple (in their 60s) raising a couple of young granddaughters. I tried finding some others to help but at that late hour it wasn't going to happen. Sue and I got in Big Red (our name for our pickup) and went over there.
Cliff and Linda live across the river (Mississippi) on a small lake with a dozen or so other families. Lake Stevenson looks tranquil enough, but overruns its banks when the levees are breached, which is what is expected to happen and why they and all the others were told to evacuate.
Cliff and Linda both looked absolutely wiped out. The sheer physical labor and the emotional stress was taking its toll. We helped move one load of food and clothing and helped load a flatbed trailer with other belongings. They had already spent long hours in the heat and humidity stacking things like the girl's toys, extra clothing, and other belongings on shelving and furniture they weren't going to move, at what they hope will be above the waterline. The lateness of the hour and their exhaustion meant they could do no more. The heavy stuff, washer, dryer, couch, etc., has to be moved tomorrow. Sue and I drove home depressed.
The tragedy here is summed up in Cliff's words to me as we drove a load of their belongings to his mother's home in Burlington: "Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse, they have." It was all I could to keep from bursting into tears. When I multiply their story by the hundreds, even thousands of similar stories of flood victims around Iowa, Wisconsin, and elsewhere in the Midwest, it is overwhelming. I take some solace in the fact that we were doing what we can to give some little relief to Cliff and Linda knowing that we can't do it all. I have been wondering how many people who were on the brink of financial ruin are pushed over the edge like the waters of the Mississippi over the levees.
Well its time for the Sunday liturgy. A time on this particular Sunday to share our concerns and pain and be in touch with God's grace and presence for healing and comfort.
Monday, June 16th...
I was able to recruit some help to get Cliff and Linda's heavy stuff moved. So after church we headed back over to the 'other side' (as the Illinois side of the river is referred to in Burlington) to finish what we started yesterday. In the middle of it we were hit a hail storm followed by a heavy down pour, but thankfully it lasted only a few minutes. We were able to get all the big and heavy stuff loaded, as well as finish off the smaller things. We drove away leaving everything in God's hands.
The village of Gulfport, IL, across the river from Burlington, has been ordered to evacuate by no later than today. The Mississippi is expected to crest tomorrow at 25.7, if so, I'm told that most of the levees will be breached or they will collapse. The flood barriers in downtown Burlington that were built over the weekend are leaking and one has been breached.
Cliff and Linda, the girls and a yellow lab are now safely squared away in the upstairs of the Christ Church parish hall where there is a sofa sleeper, a clean toilet, and the kitchen. We are praying the levees will hold.
As the afternoon wore on we did get word that our friends who own "Big Muddy's" (a restaurant converted from an old railroad depot and warehouse on the river) have lost their battle to save the building. They spent $25,000 (not counting volunteer labor) building a cement and sand moat around their restaurant. I am heart broken for them. For the time being and for the next few months, Dennis and Karla will lose their livelihood, as well their employees, some of whom are single parents.
Again, I know their story, and Cliff and Linda's are not unique, as it is repeated over and over again all across the state and in other places around the Midwest.
Tuesday, June 17th...
Our parishioners, Cliff and Linda, found out that their house has water up to the eaves, following the early morning levee break, south of Gulfport, IL - this means both the Gulfport and Lake Stevenson communities are now completely under water; Dennis and Karla's restaurant in Burlington ("Big Muddy's" as seen on CBS news and the BBC) though a real mess, will eventually re-open! Parishioner's with businesses under or in water are: Bonnie, Ron, Newt, and Mac and sons, Mac Jr and Steve: they all vow to recover and go forward...
Oakville, IA (22 miles north of here on 99) is completely under water, as is much of the 'bottoms' between here and there; many farms are completely under water...
Like so many other Iowa places, it’s a mess and we'll be in recovery a long time, but recover we will...Hope prevails!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I am deeply appreciative and thankful for the offers that have come Iowa's way over the past few days.
I now have a list of names and numbers and as soon as I get the word, I will get these folks connected as soon as possible.
Blessings,
Pat Genereux
Christ Church, Burlington
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