BREAKING NEWS: Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds Holds Briefing On Flooding Emergency In Northern Iowa
Gov. Kim Reynolds (R-IA) provides updates on the ongoing flooding emergency in Northern Iowa.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Okay, we'll go ahead and get started.
00:07This afternoon I want to provide a brief update on the severe flooding that's occurring in
00:12northwest Iowa.
00:13You know, after four years of drought, the state has experienced unusually heavy rainfall
00:19this spring, and beginning on Friday, some areas up in northwest Iowa, so the ground
00:24is saturated, which we didn't think we would ever begin to say after four years of drought,
00:28but beginning on Friday, some areas got up to 15 inches of rain over two days, and of
00:34course because the ground was saturated, that has resulted in severe flooding across several
00:39counties.
00:41The State Emergency Operations Center has monitored the situation overnight, and on
00:47Saturday they fully activated the SEOC at 6 a.m. yesterday.
00:52I think it's Sunday, my days are starting to blur together.
00:55They activated the SEOC at 6 a.m. yesterday, and they are now operating 24-7.
01:01With the standing up of SEOC, I immediately issued an initial disaster emergency proclamation
01:07for Sioux County.
01:08I then directed the Iowa National Guard to stand up a helicopter for rescue missions,
01:15also through an emergency EMAC.
01:18I requested an additional helicopter and crew from the Nebraska National Guard so that we
01:24were on standby.
01:25I want to thank Governor Pillan for his immediate response and approval of that request, and
01:31just really do appreciate the partnership in that effort.
01:35We also deployed Homeland's Urban Search and Rescue Team, or USAR Team, for a SIPS water
01:40rescue, and DNR has conducted 250 water rescues yesterday alone.
01:47By 10 a.m. yesterday, we'd extended the disaster proclamation to 20 more counties and have
01:53since added Palo Alto this morning to the proc as well.
01:56We anticipate probably adding additional counties as the water continues to move downstream.
02:03Yesterday afternoon, I had the opportunity to take an aerial tour of the region with
02:07several of my cabinet members.
02:09I can tell you the devastation is severe and it's widespread.
02:14In almost every community impacted, the rivers crested several feet above record levels from
02:22the floods of 1993.
02:24In fact, we had 16 flood gauges that recorded historic levels.
02:30While we're still very early in the response, the projected damage is staggering, and at
02:35this time, it's estimated that at least 1,900 properties are impacted and hundreds have
02:41been destroyed, as well as a lot of ag property and ag land has also been impacted by the
02:48far-reaching flooding.
02:50Businesses are shuttered.
02:51Main streets have been impacted.
02:53Hospitals, nursing homes, and other care facilities were evacuated.
02:57Cities are without power, and some are without drinkable water.
03:02The DNR reported 10 water systems and 21 wastewater systems have been affected by the flooding
03:08that was as of last night.
03:10Overnight, more than 1,000 Iowans were sheltered.
03:14And all along, Homeland, together with the county emergency managers, many other state
03:20and local resources, have been evacuating and moving displaced residents to safety.
03:25They've been busy putting up barriers and sandbags, putting them in place, a lot of
03:30times doing everything they can to mitigate the flooding and to protect their water treatment
03:35facility, and just so much more.
03:39It's not over yet.
03:40As the floodwater begins to recede in the far northern communities, we're already seeing
03:45them crest.
03:46They're starting to come down.
03:47But that water will head downstream, and areas to the south are planning for rivers to continue
03:53to crest at record levels.
03:55Additionally, the 7-day forecast calls for more rain, which means flooding could continue
04:02to be an issue and may even impact other parts of the state as well.
04:08Later today, Homeland Security Emergency Management will be conducting a call with our eastern
04:13Iowa counties, as well as the Missouri River counties, so we can get an update and help
04:19them be prepared in case we do see additional flooding in those two areas with additional
04:24rain.
04:25And they're also, as well as that, they're coordinating with the Corps and the National
04:30Weather Service.
04:32Yesterday, I spoke with FEMA Administrator Criswell.
04:35I also spoke with the Region 7 Administrator Spellers.
04:39And today, I submitted a request for an expedited presidential major disaster declaration.
04:46In that request, it will provide, we're asking for additional federal assistance for nine
04:51counties, as well as 22 counties for public assistance through that disaster declaration.
04:59At this point, I want to give, ask Director Benson of Homeland Security and Emergency
05:04Management, who will, to provide more details about the response on the ground at this time.
05:09We participated in a call with all the emergency managers yesterday morning, last night, and
05:16then again this morning to get a check-in, see what the immediate needs are.
05:20Director Benson will talk, give you a little bit more color and a little bit more detail
05:25in that regards.
05:26But first, I want to just say how grateful that we are to him and his team and to the
05:33county emergency managers, the local mayors and their teams and the volunteers.
05:38It's just incredible to see everybody kick in, to watch how they communicate, how they
05:43back each other up.
05:44These are one-man, two-man shops in most of these counties, and they support each other.
05:49They come from other areas of the state to support the local EM that's in, just dealing
05:55with so much.
05:57To watch them move and coordinate resources has been beyond impressive.
06:03I've seen them drive down in the middle of the night, call and say, I've got it, we'll
06:07be done at this time, and sending a pump or a generator or cots.
06:12You know, when you've got a thousand people sheltered, just lining up enough cots to get
06:18them to the shelters so that people have someplace where they can, you know, get, stay and then,
06:24you know, get a hot meal and be taken care of until they can start to figure out what
06:28they're going to do with their homes.
06:29So, just really grateful for his team and my cabinet as well, the State Patrol, the
06:40DOT, the DNR, HHS, we've got Red Cross on site, and everyone is on the ground doing
06:46everything they can to address this critical response.
06:50So, it's a team effort, and we're just happy to get everybody involved.
06:53And with that, I'll turn it over to John to give you some more details.
06:59My name is John Benson.
07:00I'm Governor Reynolds, Director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
07:04Before I get started, to give you a little color on what we are doing here in the SEOC
07:08to support the citizens of the state, as a director, I just want to say my division in
07:15the department are focused on doing what we can to support the citizens.
07:19This, as the governor correctly noted, this is a very serious flood that we're in right
07:24now, and it is not going to cease.
07:26It is going to blossom across the state.
07:29So, I will discuss that a little bit further down the road, but for citizens of the state,
07:33my people are working for you, and we're going to continue that effort.
07:36A little color about what we're doing in terms of the response effort right now.
07:41Obviously, as the governor noted, we coordinate a lot with the local emergency managers,
07:45and we work on the missions that they decide they need help with.
07:49They're looking at their weaknesses, their gaps.
07:51We fill those gaps.
07:52Right now, one of the big ones we're working on, obviously, is going to be water missions.
07:56We've seen a lot of water plants go down.
07:58How do we fill those water missions?
08:00So, we've got a couple of different methods.
08:01We're doing that basically all over Northwest Iowa.
08:04We'll keep working on those.
08:06Another big one that's been a big focus for us today has been how do we support those
08:09local shelters?
08:10As the governor noted, how do we move the resources that we need to get there so those
08:14people have a safe place to sleep?
08:16Do they have good feeding?
08:18Do they have their medical needs met?
08:20Last night, the folks from HHS as well as DPS were working on addressing emergency medical issues.
08:26Troopers literally running medicine across the state to help support those people that had to
08:31leave their house so quick they didn't take the medicine with them.
08:34So, to Kelly and the commissioner, thank you for your support on that.
08:37That's been really awesome to watch.
08:40Some of the other stuff we're doing out there, the other agencies are doing it.
08:43When you're talking about all of these road closures, go on 511 for Iowa.
08:48You're going to see a lot of road closures.
08:49Those don't just happen.
08:51That's coordination between local folks.
08:53Also, with Scott and his team at DOT in terms of how do we make that happen.
08:57Little word of advice, if that barrier is up and that road is closed, do not go around it.
09:02It is there for your safety.
09:04The conditions beyond that barrier are not safe for you to travel in.
09:08Word to the wise, don't go around it.
09:11Some of the other things we've been looking at, with Commissioner Banz and his team,
09:14obviously they're doing law enforcement missions, but we did utilize technology from them yesterday
09:19to help do an aerial survey of those impacted areas, which aided us in being able to provide the
09:24governor with the letter that she just signed to go to the president.
09:28So, commissioner, thank you for your support on that.
09:30That's been really helpful.
09:33As we look at other things, obviously big issues moving forward are going to be flood control.
09:37How do we fight this flood back?
09:38Where are the weaknesses that we have?
09:40So, we work with the locals.
09:41We talk about transportation of sandbags, HESCO barriers, anything else to fight that flood.
09:46Scott and his team at DOT are key to moving that stuff around.
09:50We look at the effort that the guard is doing for us in terms of they did some emergency rescue missions,
09:54but they've also been transporting resources around.
09:57We have high water vehicles from the guard in Spencer right now helping that town that's divided in half.
10:02It's been very impressive to watch.
10:04As noted, Director Lyon's team has been doing water rescue missions.
10:09They will shift gears here in the next couple days as we talk about debris.
10:12How do cities and communities properly dispose of debris and work on those type of missions?
10:17How do we help stand up those water systems?
10:19Her folks will be providing that technical expertise as we go forward.
10:24One thing I would ask your help as the media, as we move forward kind of out of this response phase
10:30into recovery phase, one of the things you will see happen is people are going to want to donate.
10:35We are in the process of coordinating with the local officials about who do you contact at the local end
10:41in terms of to correctly place those donations.
10:44You can bring them to me.
10:45I'm not the right person.
10:47Let's get them down into the local end.
10:49So, in the coming days, we will be putting out information.
10:52I would ask your help in amplifying that in terms of what's the correct place.
10:56If I want to donate up into Sioux County, who do I talk to?
10:59Who can I donate money to?
11:00If I've got goods, I want to donate goods.
11:02The one caution I will give you on donations, typically the best option available to you is to donate cash to those recovery funds.
11:09Showing up with a truckload of stuff and things makes the situation worse.
11:15So, be very cognizant of when you want to donate that you're doing that correctly.
11:19Also, if you want to volunteer your time, that would be the same path that we're going to work down
11:23so you have the capability to volunteer your time.
11:26As the governor mentioned, as we move forward, this flood is not over.
11:30Right now, everything you see in northwest Iowa is getting dumped into the Missouri River.
11:35If you go look at the river gauges in the Missouri, they are going up and they are going to go up quickly.
11:40You will see those gauges peaking beginning the back part of this week.
11:44If you're on the Missouri River and on those rivers, please pay attention to the forecast.
11:49Additionally, as the governor noted, we do have rain in the forecast for the next seven to ten days.
11:55And that rain is going to be primarily focused on the eastern half of the state.
11:59Those rivers are rising. This will cause them to rise further.
12:03Please pay attention to the forecast. Stay weather aware.
12:06If you are in an area that is going to flood, pay particular attention.
12:10If you need to get out of your house, please have what we refer to as a go kit.
12:15What do you need when you need to leave your house in an expeditious fashion?
12:19Think about medicines. Think about legal documents, driver's license.
12:23Even think about contemplating taking your deed to your house with you as well,
12:28so you can prove ownership, insurance documents. Have a plan. Stay prepared.
12:32The other thing, and I hit upon it with the barriers, it's an active flood.
12:37This is still a very dangerous situation in the areas that are flooding.
12:41Those barriers are not up as a joke. They are there to keep you safe.
12:45Listen to what the local officials are telling you with regard to the flood impacts.
12:49They are doing that for your safety. Please pay attention.
12:53The single entry point, I'll close with the last single entry point into our disaster recovery efforts,
12:58is on disasterrecovery.iowa.gov.
13:03As we make our way through the recovery process, and if you've looked at it in response to the tornadoes,
13:09you will see information about if you're an impacted citizen,
13:12how you can engage with the various programs that are out there.
13:15As we work through the flood recovery process, we will update that site as we go along.
13:20But as I said when I opened, our mission here is A, to support the state of Iowa,
13:25B, to directly support the citizens and those local emergency managers as we work through this issue,
13:31and we will be here as long as we need to be to make sure that mission is satisfied.
13:35So thank you.
13:38I think at this point, at this time, I'll have the National Weather Service come up
13:43and just give us an update on what's happening with the weather.
13:52Hi. I'm Donna with the National Weather Service.
13:55I'm the meteorologist in charge at the office here in Johnston.
13:59As they've mentioned and described quite well, actually, we had over 10 inches of rain that fell last week.
14:06One thing that was impressive about it is the scale of how large of an area was affected by heavy rain.
14:13It was over 10 inches of rain that fell from north central Nebraska across southeastern South Dakota,
14:20southern Minnesota, and into northwest Iowa.
14:23To give you a frame of reference, 10 inches of rain is about eight times what you would normally expect to happen in a week or so,
14:31so eight times average, so a very high, high rainfall event.
14:36That water is now working its way down through the system,
14:39so the concern with the forecast is we remain in an active weather pattern,
14:43which means periodic rain chances throughout the next week to 10 days.
14:49In the short term, so Monday, Tuesday, it looks like those weather systems are going to be moving fairly quickly.
14:54That's a good thing because it means the rainfall amounts will be lower.
14:58As we look to the end of the week, that's where it gets a little bit more of a concern,
15:02Thursday into Friday and potentially even into Saturday,
15:06as a system looks like it's going to come and maybe slow down a little bit.
15:10So as we get closer, we're going to want to take a look at where that front exactly lines up and where the heavy rain is.
15:17The trend in the forecast has been to take the heavy rain for the end of the week.
15:22It was yesterday over more eastern Iowa and even into Illinois,
15:26and the trend has been to move that a little bit more to the west,
15:29so now it's more central Iowa into eastern Iowa.
15:34So that's something to watch very closely.
15:37One thing that I would mention as we think about how that water is going to impact the river system,
15:43as the Missouri River starts to come up and all this water from the tributaries gets into those main rivers,
15:51when you're looking at a river forecast, look and see, it should say somewhere on that forecast,
15:57how much forecast rainfall is included, because many and most, I would say, river forecasts
16:02only include forecast rain for the next 24 hours.
16:07But we're not expecting that rain to happen until the end of the week, the heavier rain.
16:11So just be aware of that if you're making plans based on that.
16:14We do look at the long-range forecasts for the Mississippi River,
16:17and it does show the Mississippi main stem going into major flooding in the latter part,
16:22so in the 7-10 day time frame.
16:25There's a lot of part moving pieces here, a lot of things going on,
16:28and we unfortunately just have to wait and see how the rain lays out
16:32until we can know exactly how it's going to impact the river system.
16:40Thank you, I appreciate that.
16:41One of the things, as John was talking about, how we've got an active situation
16:44and we need to take things seriously, I would just say, which they've done a pretty good job,
16:49but if you do get an evacuation order, it's serious.
16:52That means that you need to evacuate.
16:55We have homeowners that think that they can stand it out and that they'll be fined, and then fine,
17:00and then we're bringing additional resources into the situation for them to get in there and rescue the families.
17:06So if you get an evacuation order, please do what they've asked you to do.
17:14Again, I just want to thank everybody that's been a part of helping address the situation that we're in right now.
17:22I can't underscore the importance of what John said about safety during the flooding.
17:29It's been an intense few days.
17:33It's been an intense month, couple months, month and a half, to be quite honest.
17:37People are working around the clock, and information, it just changes by the hour.
17:42It's just very, very fluid.
17:44So we're going to do everything we can to continue to keep Iowans updated in the days to come.
17:50I think it's just really important to stop and recognize the heroic effort that's happening on the ground,
17:57the coordination, the collaboration.
17:59I talked about it earlier.
18:00It's just incredible.
18:02We talked to most of the mayors that have been impacted.
18:04They are working their tails off with all of the community members,
18:08doing everything they can to get the people that they serve back to some type of normal here moving forward.
18:15But I think before we open it up for questions, because I have had the directors on the ground,
18:20they're working around the clock, I thought it would be nice to give them a few moments just to kind of talk about
18:26some of the highlights, some of the things that they've seen, some of the stories they've heard,
18:30and what they're dealing with, and then we'll open it up for questions.
18:33Can I start over there?
18:38Thank you, Governor Reynolds.
18:39My name is Steve Bayens.
18:40I'm the commissioner of the Iowa Department of Public Safety.
18:42In terms of our mission, we are in that unique position where all of our troopers are dispatched across the state.
18:49So when disasters like this happen, when emergency events arise, we are often in a position to be on the ground the quickest.
18:58And so most of our response has been related to that which is physically on the ground.
19:04So when we look at kind of our response thus far, I'll start with the Iowa State Patrol Air Wing.
19:09We are the only state agency that has fixed-wing aircraft, and so we were able to get up our air wing rather quickly,
19:15and really they serve two missions.
19:17The first was to document the nature and the extent of the damage,
19:21so we can put forth a strong proclamation request from the federal government for assistance.
19:27And the second was to really help direct search and rescue efforts.
19:31The capabilities of that aircraft are significant.
19:34They are able to detect heat signatures in the water, those sorts of things,
19:38and then could direct search and rescue on the ground to those individuals that have been swept away by the waters.
19:45Our road troopers, again, were those that were first on the scene.
19:48They have been facilitating evacuations.
19:51They've been establishing those access control points that both Director Benson and the governor talked about.
19:57Please heed those.
19:59We had a couple of individuals yesterday that blew past a trooper, kind of barreled headlong into floodwaters,
20:08ended up getting stranded, ended up getting swept away,
20:11and really we had one individual that was on the cusp of losing his life
20:16had the Iowa State Patrol air wing not spotted his heat signature in the water
20:21and was able to dispatch boats in a timely way to rescue him.
20:25Additionally, we've been running medical supplies across the state.
20:29This event arose rather quickly, and a lot of folks left their homes without access to medication,
20:34so we quickly worked with Director Garcia's team at Health and Human Services and Public Health
20:40to determine what those medication needs were,
20:43and then we literally leapfrogged those medications from across the state,
20:48sometimes taking it all the way from Cedar Rapids up to northwest Iowa in short order.
20:53Our troopers know how to drive and get from A to B rather quickly,
20:57so we were able to deliver those in a timely fashion.
21:00We've been escorting supplies where they're needed.
21:04Obviously, there are so many road closures that when you have a semi full of water,
21:09they may not be fully aware of how to get into those needed locales,
21:14so our troopers have been escorting those supply convoys into those locales.
21:18Additionally, we have established a bit of a taxi service at the Iowa State Patrol.
21:23There are a number of individuals that are without transportation and have high priority needs,
21:28so our troopers have physically been taking folks to medical appointments,
21:31have been getting them where they need to be, see insurance adjusters and the like,
21:36and have been spending a good chunk of time doing that.
21:39Finally, the road troopers have been taking the calls for service.
21:42Obviously, a lot of these communities have very small police departments,
21:46and they can get quickly overwhelmed just from a personnel standpoint,
21:51so we've been giving them some much needed rest and taking all the calls for service in those locales.
21:57Finally, our communications team, the Clay County Communications Center did lose all power.
22:05They were overcome by water, and so we were able to actually stand up a mobile dispatch center in Clay County.
22:12We have a large kind of RV that has a full communication suite in it,
22:18and we're able to quickly stand that up and then start taking the calls for service for Clay County
22:22and doing all their dispatching, and we will continue to do that for the foreseeable future.
22:26So that's just a brief update from the Iowa Department of Public Safety.
22:32Next we have Director Marler with the DOT.
22:36Thank you, Governor. Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Scott Marler, Director of the Iowa DOT.
22:41As the Governor and Director Benson have mentioned, these significant impacts that we've seen,
22:47our job is to support these communities and the people who live in them.
22:51I'm pleased to say at the DOT we've been very involved with closing and opening roads in support of keeping people safe.
22:58That's really the primary focus I'll emphasize here.
23:01I want to echo several comments you've already heard.
23:03If you see those barricades that say road closed, please turn around
23:07and don't try to go around those barricades and proceed past them.
23:11We've been doing a lot of that at the DOT.
23:13Obviously we're focused on ensuring that people have access still to their communities where we can.
23:19In that regard, we've been moving a lot of pumps around the state.
23:22In fact, we've moved 23 different pumps around the state,
23:26both from here at Camp Dodge up to different areas,
23:29as well as moving in and around the state up to northwestern Iowa.
23:33We've run cot missions from the DOT, where we actually use some of our box trucks to locate cots
23:39from right here at Camp Dodge up to Rock Valley, Hayward, and Lamars.
23:43We moved some to our staging area at Storm Lake.
23:47We also have been involved with moving HESCO barriers.
23:51In fact, we've been active this afternoon moving about 500 feet of HESCO barriers.
23:56One of the interesting stories I'd like to share with you is in times like this,
24:01as we've heard about impacts to water, there have been donations from some of our great private partners,
24:06like the Fairway Corporation, who donated several trailer loads of bottled water.
24:12They were able to move two trailers actually to our staging area at Storm Lake,
24:17and the DOT actually hooked up our tractors to those trailers,
24:21and we went ahead and located those right into Rock Valley.
24:24So these and many other ways we're doing at the department to try to ensure ultimately that people are safe,
24:29that's number one, and that we can provide that support that these communities need.
24:33Thank you.
24:36Director Lyon with the DNR.
24:40Thank you, Governor. My name is Kayla Lyon.
24:42I'm the Director of the Department of Natural Resources.
24:45The Department of Natural Resources plays several roles in disaster response.
24:49Our field office staff are on the ground locally working with our water supply folks,
24:55our drinking water and wastewater, as well as assessing how we get rid of debris and debris management,
25:02among other environmental concerns, and they're doing that to help protect the public.
25:07In addition to that, you've heard Governor allude to this already,
25:10our conservation officers were pulled to these areas with their boats.
25:14At one point we had 22 conservation officers doing water rescues, navigating some pretty nasty current.
25:21I've seen some incredible photos and stories from our staff from boats full of families and kids in car seats.
25:28For example, we had two officers that were dispatched to a medical call.
25:33There was a wheelchair-bound individual, his house was flooding, his gas line broke, and he was stranded.
25:41And so our officers made it to the house.
25:44They got there, they drove the boat up to the deck.
25:46They actually disassembled the railing on the deck so they could drive the boat up to it
25:51and wheeled him into the boat and took him back to emergency responders.
25:55So I want to commend our staff.
25:57This isn't unique to the DNR.
25:59We have local folks, and we all have local folks that have left their homes and their families
26:04that probably are dealing with water in their basement and not having power and rising to the challenge.
26:09So I want to make sure that we take the opportunity to thank our staff.
26:15Director Garcia with HHS.
26:19Thank you, Governor. I'm Kelly Garcia.
26:21I'm the director of the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services.
26:24This is not the first disaster or emergency response we've responded to as a new agency, but it's definitely the largest.
26:31And I think what I'm seeing from my team is a really comprehensive response and approach that is absolutely yielding,
26:37I think, a better approach for Iowans, and that is exactly what our alignment of agencies is about.
26:42We are responsible for health, shelter, and medical needs.
26:46As you've heard already, a number of different stories that are very, very real.
26:50We are working to provide sheltering needs, so linens, towels, cots, of course, as the governor mentioned,
27:00so that individuals can rest and then think about where they go next.
27:04We, of course, are responsible for food and water and all of the essential services that are needed at shelters.
27:10Feeding beyond a shelter location is top of mind.
27:14We've already started to work on our disaster SNAP application.
27:18As soon as the governor receives that federal declaration, we will be responding to our federal partners to request disaster SNAP assistance.
27:25That will allow Iowans to buy, purchase hot meals and ready-to-go meals in whatever location they're in,
27:33and that's a really significant response mechanism.
27:36We also have food banks engaged and community action agencies.
27:40A number of local partners that have stepped up, as Director Lyon mentioned, left their own homes to be helpers in this situation.
27:48We're also responsible for language translation, and that's been a really significant need for parts of the state.
27:53We have our own staff as well as local partners in shelters providing translation in real time,
28:01and then we're also working to translate needed materials for Director Benson's website, the One Stop Shop website as well.
28:08And then last but not least, because on the human service side of things that is incredibly important,
28:13we reached out to all foster families to make sure that our children in child welfare were safe and accounted for,
28:19that foster families or biological families who had their children with them had needed resources and knew where to go as well.
28:27One anecdote, but I think a tremendous story that shows the true character and resilience of Iowans,
28:32was a story that was mentioned a bit earlier by Director Benson.
28:36But last night we did have a family who was sheltering in place.
28:39They were out of seizure medication and insulin, obviously two life-saving critical medical needs.
28:45We were signaled through local emergency management.
28:48We worked with Commissioner Bain's team and located a pharmacist who was busy sandbagging on Main Street.
28:56Commissioner Bain's trooper was able to meet that pharmacist,
28:59and then the trooper drove those medical items directly to the home in the middle of the night.
29:07That family is safe and secure now because of that coordination and because of the spirit of Iowans.
29:14And we just hear story after story after story of that kind of coordination and just resilience and efforts.
29:22It's truly inspiring.
29:23So for wrap-up, we have General Osborne with the Iowa National Guard, who's been instrumental.
29:28Thank you, Governor.
29:29Good afternoon.
29:30My name is Steve Osborne.
29:32I'm the Action General for the Iowa National Guard.
29:34And as many of you know, the purpose of the National Guard is to be available to respond to the needs of our civilian leaders,
29:41both on the state and federal side.
29:43And that's very apparent in this situation where our medical evacuation unit is predominantly deployed to Kosovo.
29:51The one crew we do have here remaining in Iowa was activated yesterday, as the Governor mentioned,
29:56to conduct search and rescue, aerial search and rescue operations throughout the day.
30:02Because of that shortage of aircraft and crews, we coordinated with Nebraska.
30:07They brought a crew forward staged in the air base at Sioux City for, if needed, for aerial search and rescue last night.
30:15We've also had about 25 soldiers on duty since yesterday afternoon,
30:21really moving commodities, supplies to support our affected counties and emergency managers and local communities.
30:29We stand by for whatever the Governor or the Director of Homeland Security Emergency Management may need next.
30:35Thank you.
30:37One of the other areas we've actually utilized the Guard is with their high-water vehicles.
30:41So we've had them in Spencer and as well as in Rock Valley, I believe.
30:45So they've been extremely helpful from that perspective as well.
30:49So I hope you get some sense that this is an all-team effort.
30:53Actually, the alignment with the Cabinet has been instrumental, again,
30:56in being able to really streamline our efforts and be efficient in helping get the resources to the communities
31:05and the counties that have been impacted.
31:08Just that last week, I think we did at our Cabinet meeting,
31:11we did a review of Minden and Greenfield and the tornadoes that went across the state
31:17and just things that we can get in front of, things that we can be better at.
31:22It was a great Cabinet meeting.
31:25We've got some great ideas moving forward how we're going to just change a few of the things that we've done.
31:30But one of them was really getting the team onsite quicker so that we can really be a hands-on resource to the communities that have been impacted.
31:39So it was timely, and we've already kicked some of those ideas, and we've already implemented them.
31:46So I appreciate it.
31:48I appreciate their response as well.
31:50With that, we'll open it up for questions, and everybody is available for questions that you might have.
32:21Yeah.
32:23I mean, that's part of the call that we'll have tonight.
32:25Yep.
32:26So that's a very good question because part of the art of emergency management is the preparation part of the phase.
32:32I would prefer we never had to do the response side of it.
32:35So those local emergency managers working with those utilities, I think the whole gamut of critical infrastructure,
32:41recognize where those facilities are and also understand what they need to do to them to protect them.
32:47In this case, a flood, they're forecasting a particular height.
32:50They know what impacts those are going to have, and they can take steps to that.
32:53Where it does become a challenge is if you have, like we had up in northwest Iowa,
32:57where you have a completely excessive, unforecastable rainfall.
33:03That becomes a challenge.
33:04But if we get normal stuff, they're on top of it.
33:07They're working those issues right now, and we're already having those conversations through the rest of the state
33:12about how we can get better prepared for what we're going to see here in the future.
33:17The emergency managers are continuing to have those conversations.
33:20They're in touch with the Corps, as I said earlier.
33:22They're working with the National Weather Service, really, and, you know,
33:25really monitoring how we move those resources that we talked about earlier, the HESCO barriers, the sandbags, the sand, all of that.
33:32You know, we had pre-positioned several of those with several of the other floods that we've gone through,
33:38and that really has been pretty effective and actually went into account yesterday and the day before.
33:43As we were bringing pumps up to northwest Iowa, we had to think about what was potentially going to happen in southeast Iowa
33:49and what was potentially going to happen in southwest Iowa,
33:52and so it's a moving piece of the puzzle that they're constantly working on, pre-staging,
33:59really thinking about what that next effort looks like to be in front of it
34:03but also be prepared to respond relatively quickly.
34:11I have not yet, but I'm really focused with FEMA Administrator Criswell because that's, you know,
34:18she's the one I have to deal with first.
34:20It goes through her, then she coordinates with the White House to get the approval.
34:25So that will be the next step.
34:27I've talked to her already, but I'll circle back with her today just to let her know that we got it filed.
34:32I don't know if I mentioned it, but I also spoke with our region director, Spiller, yesterday, too.
34:37She was also doing an aerial because, again, we wanted to expedite it.
34:43You know, it rises and then it goes down quickly,
34:46and we wanted to get the scope of what the flooding looked like so that we could really,
34:50that would impact our ability to get an expedited presidential disaster declaration.
34:56So we had the Iowa State Patrol up there doing it, and FEMA was also doing some aerial.
35:03So that will really help.
35:05Otherwise, they have to go home to home, and that just, it just slows it down.
35:09And with the amount of public infrastructure that's been impacted with these floods, I mean, you heard the numbers.
35:15It's going to be really important that we get that thing moving and we know what resources we have access to
35:21so we can start the recovery effort.
35:24We're going to be back in Greenfield and Minden and Shelby County again on Wednesday.
35:32We've had a lot of homes that we have to get, figure out a solution for that have been destroyed.
35:38And so we've been working closely with contractors, working with Debbie and IFA
35:46and just all of the various agencies really trying to figure out what those next steps look like to put a plan together.
35:52And we're going to have the same thing up in northwest Iowa.
35:55So there's going to be a tremendous amount of housing that we're going to have to figure up how,
36:01figure out how to stand up relatively quickly.
36:03Just as a side note, too, I just, we received a text from President Linsmeyer, Brian with Buena Vista.
36:09He called and said, hey, we've got housing available over the summer,
36:13especially for any of the impacted families.
36:16And then we had DORT and we had Northwestern follow up with the same offer.
36:22So we were just trying to think of all the different options
36:25and was really appreciated them reaching out and offering their facilities,
36:30especially over the summer for short term anyway, to house some of the families that have been impacted.
36:36So really appreciate their efforts in reaching out and making those available.
36:42Yeah. Actually, I was talking to the mayor in Rock Valley today,
36:48and that's something we're coordinating with the guard right now, with General Osborne.
36:53They might need that going forward.
36:55As John had indicated, we've had several meetings with the mayor.
36:59We've had several meetings with the governor.
37:01We've had several meetings with the mayor.
37:04Walmart, Hy-Vee, Fairway that have trucked in water.
37:08But, you know, we'll have to probably have something more long term there.
37:11They're also in case of a fire.
37:13They need some water to be able to kind of mirror the fire truck so that they, of course, have access to that.
37:20So that's something they're working on right now.
37:23Just some unique situations, too.
37:25Spencer, it's literally the town is cut in half.
37:27So they have the north side and the south side.
37:29They have two shelters stood up.
37:31They couldn't even coordinate.
37:32The EM was on the emergency manager was on the south side, really unable to get to the north.
37:37And, again, other emergency managers stepped up to help facilitate that.
37:42So that's something we're working on right now.
37:44And I believe Cherokee right down the middle, as well.
37:46So dealing with just some interesting situations like that, as well,
37:50just compounds some of the challenges that they're facing as they're trying to help people that have been impacted by the floods.
37:58Now, you know, here's what happens in Iowa.
38:00We've got shelters stood up.
38:02I think the number was 1,000.
38:04That's just one night.
38:06I mean, that's just in 24 hours, 1,000.
38:08So they took care of it.
38:10They were able to be taken care of.
38:12But so many of the shelters that we've had in Iowa have been impacted by the floods.
38:16So we've got to deal with that.
38:18We've got to deal with that.
38:20We've got to deal with that.
38:22We've got to deal with that.
38:24We've got to deal with that.
38:26We've got to deal with that.
38:28We've got to deal with that.
38:30We've got to deal with that.
38:32We've got to deal with that.
38:34We've got to deal with that.
38:36We've got to deal with that.
38:38We've got to deal with that.
38:40We've got to deal with that.
38:42We've got to deal with that.
38:44We've got to deal with that.
38:46We've got to deal with that.
38:48We've got to deal with that.
38:50We've got to deal with that.
38:52We've got to deal with that.
38:54We've got to deal with that.
38:56We've got to deal with that.
38:58We've got to deal with that.
39:00We've got to deal with that.
39:02We've got to deal with that.
39:04We've got to deal with that.
39:06We've got to deal with that.
39:08We've got to deal with that.
39:10We've got to deal with that.
39:12We've got to deal with that.
39:14We've got to deal with that.
39:16We've got to deal with that.
39:18We've got to deal with that.
39:20No, I think the challenge will be, as the Governor has noted,
39:24with this flood, it's relatively,
39:26and I'm not going to use the word flash flood,
39:28but it's relatively an up-and-down flood.
39:30This will be terribly dissimilar from the Missouri flood
39:32where the water sat on those counties for three months.
39:34So what it does is it hopefully will shorten our sheltering operations,
39:39but the issue becomes, and this will be a long-term issue
39:42for all of these cities to deal with,
39:44is the impact they've had to their housing and their businesses.
39:47Those are not short fixes.
39:49Those are long-term things.
39:51We have to be very cognizant about how we're thinking about it.
39:53We have to be very thoughtful in the process.
39:55Local officials have to be thoughtful about that.
39:57I do not know the answer to those questions now because we're only two days in,
40:01but that will be a month-long process that we'll be working through.
40:04Question.
40:24So I will go.
40:25I'll take your questions backwards.
40:27Are their needs completely met?
40:28No.
40:29And that's why the governor remains engaged in my team
40:31and all of the cabinet you see here.
40:33We all remain engaged with those communities because we recognize,
40:36irrespective of the disaster, if it's a tornado or a flood,
40:40it is a long haul to get back on your feet,
40:43and so that becomes a long process.
40:45We're talking months, years.
40:47With regard to insuring the scams,
40:49that's why we want those locals to tell us who it is,
40:52and we will only put the ones that are correctly vetted
40:54through the local emergency management community onto our website.
40:59You will probably see scams out there that are saying,
41:01oh, all of our money is going to go to, trust our website, disasterrecovery.iowa.gov.
41:07Give us a day or two to get those up there,
41:09but that will be your best source in terms of how to make those donations.
41:15I want to just – I appreciate that question because Greenfield actually experienced that.
41:19So it is really important that we make sure that it's a secure individual that's asking for that.
41:25So that's really important.
41:27And I appreciate John bringing up the businesses.
41:29I tend to focus on the families,
41:31but there have been a lot of main streets that have been impacted
41:33and businesses that have been impacted.
41:35So it is far-reaching.
41:37Somebody?
41:38I just have a detail question.
41:39You say you have a presidential secretary.
41:41So the next president is probably going to be the secretary.
41:45How many communities do you have?
41:49Well, it was 22 counties.
41:51Yeah.
41:5222 counties.
41:53Is that on the –
41:5422 for –
41:55That's mine.
41:56And then I believe we have nine on the individual assistance, which is your homeowners.
42:00Yeah.
42:02So I don't have a community count because it will be – we go by the county,
42:05usually when we put it in.
42:06That makes it available.
42:08Yeah, 22 counties for public assistance,
42:10nine counties for individual through the presidential.
42:17I don't.
42:18I mean, you had to put something in to meet the requirement,
42:22and I assume we have, but I assume it's low.
42:24It's not accurate, let's just say it that way.
42:29Please understand that we are only two days since this flood is really broke.
42:34So the concept of dollar-related damages is truthfully unattainable at this point.
42:39We're looking to determine what are the major impacts in terms of destroyed homes, major homes.
42:45And I could right now, I can't even tell you the damages, for example,
42:48that the secondary road systems in the state.
42:50Those are going to be extensive.
42:52I have no clue what that dollar figure looks like right now.
42:54Yeah, that was the other thing I was going to mention.
42:56So thanks.
42:57I mean, just to the county roads and to the state roads, I mean, it's extensive.
43:01Shoulders gone, under wash.
43:03There are a lot of roads closed up in that area.
43:06It is very difficult to get in and out of some of these communities.
43:11You know, the water is going down, but they've been breached or impacted,
43:14and so we have to be really careful as people continue to try to gain access to these communities.
43:35Yeah, so we haven't.
43:36It's relatively quick.
43:38We reached out to Pillan in Nebraska, and then the request, of course,
43:42went through the formal channels and just said, hey, this is coming over.
43:46And he immediately got back to chief to chief, got back that they'd stand it up.
43:51Then Jim sent me a text and just said, happy to help.
43:54Let us know if you need anything else.
43:56You know, we've gone back and forth with Wisconsin.
43:58Was it?
43:59No, was it?
44:00Who sent the?
44:01Wisconsin.
44:02Wisconsin sent an individual down to help with some of the tornado damage.
44:08So it's relatively.
44:10You can do that fairly quickly through an existing EMAC, through the EMAC system.
44:15Boy, look at this.
44:16I'm getting, you know, I don't need a few more of these disasters to get even better at what we're doing.
44:20But so all of us, I mean, the governors are really grateful for that kind of partnership and coordination,
44:27and that's the whole purpose of EMAC, so that we can really offer resources, partner, coordinate back and forth.
44:34I saw a lot of that during the flooding, the 2019 floods along the Missouri, you know, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska,
44:42and Iowa, we worked as a team and actually collaborated in working with the Corps to get some of these levies fixed
44:50and to change the way that they were doing them.
44:52And it was really effective to have four governors at the table with the Corps to really help move them along
44:59and expedite some of the processes.
45:11So John's doing a call this afternoon with both areas, so it would be all the emergency managers.
45:19I'll just let you know.
45:23The concept is have the conversation before it gets bad.
45:26So right now we're on the Missouri River and on the eastern side of the state,
45:31we're having those preparatory conversations to understand, okay, if you are a county emergency manager
45:36and the forecast says you're going to have this flood level, are you going to have weaknesses?
45:41Are you going to have gaps that we can help you address?
45:44We're having those conversations now with them.
45:46So if the forecast do hold and we identify weaknesses that they may run into, we're going to help them out, obviously.
45:53But the other thing that goes along with it nice is it gets all of those local coordinators on the call at the same time.
45:58And one of the things you will see is it's a whole bunch of type A personalities first,
46:03but they start conversing with each other and their natural instinct is to help each other.
46:08So if it's like I'm going to run into a water problem, well, hey, I've got a buffalo out in my yard.
46:12Can I move it up to you guys and help you?
46:13That's perfect.
46:14They've already solved the issue.
46:15I don't have to engage in it.
46:16But that's what those preparatory conversations are for.
46:38That's a good question.
46:39We've had a lot of wastewater bypasses, particularly up in the northwest part of the state.
46:43And so that's always the guidance that we provide when we know these communities are bypassing.
46:47So we'll probably continue to probably expand the scope on that.
46:50But if there's flood water, you're best to stay out of it.
46:53It's probably got some things in it that you don't want exposed to.
46:57So that's been our recommendation.
47:12So disaster SNAP runs on its own authority.
47:14You have to have the presidential declaration first.
47:17And then we as the SNAP agency apply.
47:20Individuals are qualified based off of their household income, but you deduct the loss associated with the disaster.
47:27And so many of the people in this room, depending on the variety, might not be a typical SNAP client,
47:33but would qualify in this space because of the loss that they've incurred.
47:38And it does.
47:39It comes with additional flexibilities specific for a disaster recovery phase in that immediate time frame.
47:48So it's going to be really important for us.
47:50That's why we're already working on the application to move as quickly as possible.
47:53The mapping that DPS has been able to provide will help us do that.
47:57SNAP typically only has a limited kind of allotment, and you can't buy prepared meals.
48:04So you can't buy a rotisserie chicken or something that's been prepared and is ready to go and consume.
48:10But under disaster SNAP, you can.
48:12And so that's really important for families that are hoteling or in a shelter
48:17or otherwise dislocated from their typical arrangement.
48:27Well, you know, I saw a lot of land, ag land, underwater yesterday, more than I thought that I would really going up.
48:35And, you know, they can't replant, so this will have an impact of go towards the totals.
48:39That actually runs through USDA and FSA, so they have a different way of reporting that.
48:44So we just need to make sure.
48:46We ran into a little bit of a snag with that, I would say, in Shelby County, actually with the tornadoes.
48:51And so we're trying to get in front of that.
48:53I've actually asked John, Director Benson's team, as they're collecting data, to collect any farm-related data as well.
49:01A lot of it was reminiscence of driving over the Missouri where all you could see was the top of a bin.
49:07The whole farmstead was underwater.
49:10So, you know, we're going to try to collect that,
49:13and hopefully we can expedite that coordination a little bit better than we did last time.
49:18But this will have more crop impact than the other one did because of the water and not being able to replant.
49:26So those numbers will be, unfortunately, higher.
49:30It looks like more bins than just farmsteads also taken care of.
49:34A large number, you know, livestock industry up there as well, I think for the most part.
49:40We didn't see a lot of loss there, but we're still collecting that data.
49:47Well, listen, I want to just say thank you for being here.
49:50As you've heard, it's ongoing.
49:52I am so grateful for the team, the emergency managers, John's team,
49:59and just Iowans out there who are working around the clock to take care of not only their family but each other.
50:05And we see it every day, every day, every day.
50:08And so just ask Iowans to continue to be safe, to watch the weather,
50:13and make sure that we're making informed decisions as we continue to work through not only the existing flooding
50:19but prepare for what's potentially coming at the end of the week.
50:22So we're going to continue to stay in contact with all of those that have been impacted.
50:27They're going to see a lot of my team and of me.
50:30And, you know, this isn't going to end in a month.
50:32This is going to take several, several months to really get people back to normal and back in homes.
50:39But we're ready to go.
50:41We pulled the team together.
50:42We're thinking creatively, innovatively, and outside of the box so that we can meet the needs of Iowans.
50:48So thank you for being here today and being a part of this.
50:50Thank you.