In May 2007, the city of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and its surrounding county proclaimed 2008 the "Year of the River," as part of a downtown revitalization effort. The cruel irony of that designation was not lost on Al Pierson, whose florist shop sits in the downtown Cedar Rapids corridor that was submerged by that very river, as part of devastating floods that have pummeled and saturated the Midwest since late May.

"Oh, it's the year of the river all right," says Pierson, who, as of Wednesday, still hadn't been back to the main location of Pierson's Flower Shop to see just how much damage 10 feet of water can do. And, while although not in the way city planners had envisioned a year ago, 2008 is also going to be one of revitalization for a city with 25,000 homes evacuated and early estimates of property damage at $736 million, the Associated Press reports.

Although his second location, on higher ground, has stayed open, Pierson says his business is down about 90 percent. He saved the server, computers, network and some records. Before the floods hit, his staff sandbagged and moved supplies up at least four feet off the ground. "That wasn't high enough," he says. Early predictions had the river cresting at 24.5 feet, but when it hit above 30, Pierson knew he needed the flood insurance that he doesn't have. He plans to apply for a disaster loan from the Small Business Administration.

The storms, including floods and two tornadoes in recent weeks, have prompted the governor to issue disaster proclamations for 83 of the state's 99 counties. By early Monday, more than 38,000 residents in 26 Iowa communities had been evacuated. The deluge has hit Iowa florists and wholesalers, even those spared the actual floods, as power outages, economic disruption and loss of customers hasn't stopped at the water's changing edge.

"Our retail was under 2 feet of water for over 36 hours, so obviously we were shut down," says Todd Krieger, co-owner of Krieger's Greenhouses & Floral in Mason City, Iowa. The greenhouse was closed for five days, a sales loss of about $4,000. But the damage is extensive and ongoing. While Krieger's has been able to re-open for bedding plants and perennials, the power outage has left the business unable to fill wire orders and they have had to send walk-in customers back home. "The entire place needs to be rewired," he says. With no water service for four days, Krieger brought in a 5,000-gallon tank to clean up.

Krieger expects to be fully operational in six months. Although he has flood insurance, his policy does not cover business interruption insurance — an omission he warns other businesses to look for given that, while you can't control the weather, you can control your insurance.

At Boesen the Florist in Des Moines, the shops stayed dry but at least one location was swamped with plants as co-owner Tom Boesen opened it, and its empty cooler, to a downtown wholesaler that was forced to evacuate. Wholesaler J.W. Perry was able to keep its Des Moines location open after forwarding phone lines to a cell phone and setting up shop in a yet-to-be-opened Boesen location. "We're Iowans, that's what we do: Help one another out," Boesen says.

Clyde Seery, a sales rep for Ball Horticultural who lives in Iowa City, is organizing a community-wide cleanup day for a grower he visited in a western suburb of Cedar Rapids that was under water between 4 feet to ceiling high. "The water came and took the plants right off the benches and now they're all over the parking lot," Seery says of the riverside business.

An extra dry room, with working electricity, was also what Sally Stejskal offered to a flood-damaged family in Cedar Rapids. The co-owner of Stejksal Florists, Inc., which escaped the flooding by about a half mile, opened her home to an employee, her husband and dog. The shop is feeling its effects: Business is down about 50 percent and likely won't pick up for a while, as flower buying falls off the priority list of her customers.

The "economic chaos" won't let up when things dry out, she says. But it's the emotional side effects that have left her and her neighbors reeling. "It's one thing to see a disaster on TV, but to have it in your backyard, to smell it and to watch your community suffer, you can't prepare for it," she says. "It's beyond comprehension."

For more about disaster relief, volunteer efforts and federal assistance, visit this Web site.

--Amanda Long
along@safnow.org

 

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