Written By: Karleigh Halpin | Photos By: Ashley Boatright | Designed By: Warner Pool

On August 10, the Midwest experienced a land hurricane, also known as a derecho. What seemed to be a gloomy day soon turned into a storm and no one was prepared.

Residents of Iowa, Illinois and Nebraska were soon hit with the fact that the best thing to do was to get shelter and hope that the storm would blow over soon. Houses were knocked down, buildings were ripped to shreds, trees fell on everything in sight, RVs and mobile homes were completely flipped on their sides and power lines covered the streets. Unfortunately, many people were left injured, and sadly, a few fatalities were recorded.

I was in Cedar Rapids when the derecho hit, laying in bed planning on taking a nap. I woke up to three rounds of tornado sirens outside. I was unaware that there was any chance of rain, let alone that this storm planned to take out the whole city of Cedar Rapids. Shortly after the sirens went off, the wind started picking up outside. About 15 minutes after the first sirens, the power completely shut off in the apartment building I was in.

According to The National Weather Service, the derecho covered nearly 800 miles across four states, and in Iowa alone, over 10 million acres of corn and soybean crops were flattened and destroyed. To put that into perspective, nearly 1/3 of the farmland in Iowa was left damaged. Farmers who rely on these crops for their livelihood are now trying to salvage what they have left of the damaged crops, rebuild farm sheds and replant crops. The derecho managed to crush massive grain silos, leaving metal structures scattered around. Wind speeds reached approximately 120 mph, and over 400,000 people were left without power. After 10 days, over 250,000 residents were still without power. Residents soon learned that losing their power was the least of their worries moving forward.

Power and Property

In the derecho’s aftermath telephone poles were ripped to shreds, and power lines were covering streets. Electricians from across the country came to help restore power. Driving down the street after the storm, it looked like a scene from a horror movie. Street signs were crushed, billboards were bent in half, and there was no form of communication. Once the power went out, the cell towers also went down shortly after.

Bailey Sullivan, a student at Grand View, was one of the many that lost power.

“When the storm hit, I was by myself at Grand View,” Sullivan said. “The power immediately went out when the wind started picking up. My family, who lives in Mount Vernon, were also some of the less fortunate to lose power. They were without power and cell service for over a week.”  

With no Wi-Fi or cell reception, families were hoping for the best when it came to trying to get in contact with family and friends, myself included. I was not with my family when the storm hit, and when it did, I was left wondering if everyone was OK. Unable to get in contact with my immediate family, I was left stuck in a storm cellar hoping that this would pass soon. It was approximately 20 minutes after the storm started that I decided it was best to take shelter. Some people I have never met before asked me to take shelter with them. The cellar was very dark and very small. It was safe to say we all became very comfortable with each other very fast. It then took

me about an hour to get in contact with my parents. Phone calls wouldn’t go through and text messages said not delivered. When one message would finally send, it would take even longer for the next ones to come through. Phones became like paperweights and were almost useless.

Transportation

When it comes to being able to get around, it was anything but easy. As soon as the power went out, most gas stations were unable to stay open. In Linn County, where I am from, the few gas stations and stores that were open were only accepting cash. My 15-minute drive home turned into a 45-minute drive. The drive back was eerie. It was pitch black, street lights were down, and I was forced to use my GPS because the street signs I was used to reading were blown over. On the way home, I saw close to 10 semis tipped over on their sides in the ditch. Storage units were ripped open, and campers were on top of each other or nearly bent in half.

People were driving up to an hour to find a gas station that had power to fill up their cars and gas cans for their generators and other necessities. The lines to get gas ranged anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours. I had multiple friends who were so low on gas that they couldn’t even make it to a gas station to fill up. The gas stations in Iowa City and North Liberty were some of the most used. Not only did they have gas available, but people were also able to use their cellphones there. I luckily had enough gas to drive from Cedar Rapids to North Liberty to fill up but was forced to wait in line for 45 minutes.

Shelter

According to The New York Times, the storm also left many without shelter. Some have been forced to relocate and evacuate, while others have continued to sleep in their homes, which are left without roofs, walls and electricity. Apartment buildings that have been ripped to shreds, left residents pitching tents outside. An apartment building on the southwest side of Cedar Rapids, full of refugees who had escaped from their countries to find a better life, is now facing destruction once again.

Not knowing the next time they would be able to get groceries, many people resorted to spending almost thousands on generators, in order to keep their food safe to eat. On top of that, the thousands of residents that were not lucky enough to come across a generator were stuck in their houses with no power, with the temperature being almost 90 degrees outside. Bags of rotten food filled the streets.  

Schools

Most schools in Cedar Rapids and surrounding areas were forced to start school weeks after their original start date. The storm left massive floods in the schools and managed to take off roofs leaving many schools with gas leaks and no power. Schools had to start virtually until their buildings were able to get the needed repairs. Post Storm

Walking outside for the first time after the storm, I looked at the emotions of all of the neighbors; it broke my heart and it was hard not to shed a tear. I looked across the street and could see right through the inside of the fire department that had just lost it’s roof. Trees were blocking everyone in and it was hard to find a road that was clear enough to drive on.

Drew Adams, a junior at Grand View, said this was the worst storm he had ever witnessed.

“Driving around town after the storm had passed through was a shocking experience,” Adams said. “Nearly every yard was covered in some type of debris, and plenty of streets were even blocked off by fallen trees or powerlines.”  

I was left speechless. The town I grew up in was not the same town that it was the night before. My parents’ house was missing shingles, the siding was ripped off, and our fence was almost completely gone. Not to mention, the ceiling was leaking from all of the rain and our garage was completely blown inward. To this day, the ceiling has yet to be fixed and there are still repairs that need to be made. Compared to most, we were extremely lucky. There were many others that were not as fortunate.

“My family’s house in Mount Vernon had a tree fall down and plenty of other debris spread around the yard,” Adam said, “A tree came down on our backyard fence and completely damaged it.”

Sullivan was in Des Moines when the storm occurred. She was in the Johnson Wellness Center when the power went out, but luckily the generators kicked on right away. She got locked in between Knudsen and the Wellness Center, surrounded by glass windows. The doors locked, and she no longer had access to any of the doors because the power went out. She was forced to sit in between buildings until the storm had passed.

“When I walked outside, I saw a tree through someone’s windshield. Trees were everywhere, the power was out for three days, and it looked like a ghost town,” Sullivan said.

She drove home the next day to Mt.Vernon and was blown away by what she saw.

“Every tree was gone; trees covered my pool, and the fence was ripped out of the foundation,” Sullivan said. A tree also fell through her parents car, leaving it undriveable.  

Kyra Larkin, another student from Grand View, was at home in Grimes when the storm started. She left her house during the storm to go check on her sister’s dog that was left alone in her sister’s apartment.

“I was terrified driving; I thought my car was going to blow over,” Larkin said.

She ended up turning around halfway through the drive because the conditions were too bad.

“I have never seen anything like this before,” Larkin said. “It was truly terrifying. Cars were pulled over on the side of the road, I saw multiple semis slowly flip over, and I was just praying that I would make it home safe.”  

Days after the storm hit, no one knew about it if they weren’t from the affected locations. We got hit by the equivalent of a Category 3 inland hurricane and there was

nothing on the front page of any national news outlets. Many Iowans are frustrated with the lack of national attention that they received. Local journalists and reporters have worked around the clock to cover the derecho and tell the stories of all of the people affected.

Communities

Luckily, the communities of Iowa rallied together to clean up and help each other out. Iowans took time out of their day to help the less fortunate, and many non profits came together to give back to those in need. In my neighborhood alone, every neighbor immediately was outside after the storm, asking each other if everyone was OK and if they needed help. The days after, everyone came together to help pick up debris and fallen trees that covered the streets. Driving around town, it appeared that other neighborhoods were doing the same thing. It didn’t matter if they had never met, they all came together to help clean up their city. Local non profits also helped bring together volunteers to help hand out food and clear peoples’ yards. High school sports teams volunteered their time to help at their schools as well as the community. There were also many disaster relief groups that made their way to Cedar Rapids to help in any way they could.

The derecho brought together the state of Iowa. In a time of need, communities came together to overcome the worst natural disaster Iowa has seen in years.