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Flood assistance on the rise

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By Ed Tibbetts and Tory Brecht | Tuesday, April 29, 2008 |

It will likely be next week before a decision is made whether to seek federal help in the latest flooding along the Mississippi River, an official said Monday.

Dave Miller, the administrator of the Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Division, said flooding in other parts of the state will have to subside and costs tallied before a request is made.

“It’s too early to tell,” Miller said.

The Mississippi’s crest hasn’t even hit the Quad-Cities yet, and that’s the case with rivers and streams in other parts of the state. The Cedar, Wapsipinicon and Iowa rivers are flooding along with the Mississippi.

“I don’t think the bubble is scheduled to get out of the state until later this week,” Miller said.

In Davenport, Alan Guard, the city’s finance director, said $600,000 must be spent on preparation, prevention and cleanup to qualify for state and federal help.

“We’re working up estimates now,” Guard said. “We don’t have totals because you have to account for the cleanup afterward as well.”

If the total falls short of $600,000, the city would have to dip into its general fund reserve, which is in place to handle emergencies, Guard said. Currently, the reserve stands at $5.8 million, about 10 percent to 15 percent of the general fund.

In 2001, the city’s flood costs were $1.7 million.

Federal authorities consider uninsured losses for homes and businesses as well as damage to public infrastructure and to farmland in making a decision, Miller said. The latter isn’t much of a worry, he added, because the fields have been too wet to get a crop in the ground.

“That’s not a huge concern right now,” he said.

Davenport officials say they have received some help from the state, but for the most part, the effects of the floodwaters are being dealt with locally.

Ed Tibbetts can be contacted at (563) 383-2327 or etibbetts@qctimes.com.