Disaster Response: Oakville, Iowa Flood Relief
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Oakville Flood Relief
Project Summary, 7/2008 thru 5/2009
On June 14, 2008 the Iowa River breeched the levee near the town of Oakville, Iowa flooding more than 400 homes, various businesses and nearly 17,000 acres of farm land. A valiant sandbagging effort was made by local residents along with the help of 400 to 500 volunteers each day in an attempt to keep the swelling river within its banks. The mighty hand of God determined otherwise.
A conference call was held on June 24, 2008 to discuss how World Relief could assist the Oakville brotherhood in dealing with the situation at hand. Those involved in this call were brothers on the USA Committee of World Relief, elder Bro. Jon Schmidgall, Oakville World Relief representative Bro. Mark Schmidgall, Bros. Ron Hodel and Martin Zaugg. The needs were presented and plans to organize a volunteer relief effort began to develop. Work could not begin until the water level went down.
A project coordinator, Bro. Stan Heimer arrived in Oakville on July 14th and the flow of volunteers soon followed. The Oakville church was to be the command center for the project. Sunday school rooms were converted to sleeping rooms. About thirty volunteers could be housed each night. The shower trailer, previously used in Biloxi was hooked up behind the church building. In the church kitchen and dining room, meals were prepared and served to relief workers. Initially, local sisters took the responsibility of providing meals but as the term of the project grew, the need for additional help became apparent. Sis. Sandy Schutte responded to the need for a full time cook. By the end of October, Sis. Sandy needed a break from her duties and Sis. Vicki Ramseyer took over in the kitchen until the end of February when Sis. Sandy returned to serve through the end of the project.
The early weeks of the project focused on gutting houses – removing carpeting, drywall, cabinets and all of the water-soaked debris. Pumps were used to remove water from basements. Time was then given to dry out the remaining structure. As the water level fell, more homes were gutted. Although most of the effort was in homes, there was also a need to work on restoring hog confinement buildings. With little hope for replanting the crops lost in the flood, these income producing properties play an important role in sustaining those families dependent on them.
As the focus began to shift toward reconstruction of the damaged homes, the need for expertise in wide range of construction aspects became apparent. Bro. Glenn Ruegsegger answered the call to fill this need and began serving as the construction coordinator in September. Bro. Glenn worked closely with Sis. Tonya Lanz, volunteer coordinator for the town of Oakville, in accessing the needs of each home and developing a plan for restoration. Sis. Tonya worked with each of the families in making all of the necessary selections associated with remodeling as well as helping them through the maze of financial aid applications.
By the end of December, most of the church family had completed restoring their homes and had moved back in. The focus of work turned to the needs of the community. A Winter Work Project was planned to continue the work of restoring the homes of those in need. Work progressed through the winter and the project ended the last of May.
Through the generous support of compassionate hearts, more than 1.5 million dollars of financial aide has been shared with the victims of this disaster. Over a period of nearly eleven months, volunteers have given their time and talents in helping restore the homes and lives of those who had lost so much. More than forty-two thousand hours of volunteer labor have been recorded in this project. Approximately fifty homes have benefited from the help of volunteers in restoring them to like new condition. Grateful families are moving forward in life with a new appreciation for the help of a “Good Samaritan”.
Not one of us has the wisdom to explain why God allows such disasters to happen, but nearly everyone who has been a part of this project – whether on the receiving end or on the giving, has been the recipient of a very rich blessing. As one dear Sister said, this has been the “best worst year of our lives.” God’s hand of blessing has been abundantly felt throughout the course of this project. All praise, honor and glory belong to Him!
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