CEDAR RAPIDS SHINES
Cedar Rapids has been recognized for its expertise in flood control recovery, management, and planning.
Communities that suffer devastating disasters often walk away with hardearned expertise in recovery and resiliency, and can become models for other communities navigating their own disaster planning. As a river city — and survivor of a catastrophic flood — Cedar Rapids has positioned itself as an expert in the field of flood fighting and flood recovery.
RECOGNIZED FOR SUCCESSFUL ACQUISITION PROGRAM In 2008, more than ten square miles of the city were inundated with floodwater, impacting more than 5,000 houses. The damage to neighborhoods was heartbreaking, and the City set about securing federal funding for a home buy-out program. What followed was an unprecedented property acquisition program — one of the largest purchases of private property by a U.S. city to date. The program used federal dollars from FEMA and the Community Development Block Grant to purchase homes ravished by the flood. When the program closed in December 2014, approximately $128 million had been invested to acquire and safely demolish flood-damaged properties in the city — both residential and commercial. The program has since become a model for other communities facing disaster recovery.
RECOGNIZED FOR ECONOMIC RECOVERY Recently, the American Flood Coalition partnered with Johns Hopkins University to publish a report on the economic impacts of flood resilient infrastructure. The report was published in December 2020, and featured a case study on Cedar Rapids’ pursuit of permanent flood control and our positive economic growth following the 2008 Flood. The report explored how investments in flood-resilient infrastructure are associated with local economic development, stating: “This investment and planning (in Cedar Rapids) may have had a significant impact on commercial revitalization and property values in the city as a whole and in areas immediately adjoining the new flood protective infrastructure.” (American Flood Coalition John Hopkins Study, December 2020) Since 2008, more than $360 million in private capital investment has occurred in the flood-impacted area.
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