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Samaritan’s Purse U.S. Disaster Relief Unit to Iowa

Samaritan’s Purse Responds in Midwest After Fierce Derecho

Parts of the Midwest are struggling to recover after a derecho barreled for 700 miles from South Dakota and western Iowa through the Corn Belt all the way to Ohio. A derecho is a widespread, long-lived, and fast-moving type of violent storm known for straight-line winds. During this Aug. 10 storm, wind gusts reached as high as 112 miles per hour.

Volunteers are patching damaged roofs and clearing yard debris in storm-struck Iowa.

VOLUNTEERS ARE PATCHING DAMAGED ROOFS AND CLEARING YARD DEBRIS IN STORM-STRUCK IOWA.

Iowa and Illinois felt the brunt of this expansive system, which some call an “inland hurricane.” The fierce weather damaged homes, churches, and businesses; caused power outages for more than 1 million people; tossed vehicles into the air; felled trees; and killed one Indiana woman.

A Samaritan’s Purse U.S. Disaster Relief Unit and another vehicle were sent out on Aug. 11 and more vehicles departed the next day. After meeting with local leaders and churches to assess needs in affected communities, we have established a base at Hillside Wesleyan Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

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Day volunteers began Aug. 14, with protocols in place to help prevent the spread of coronavirus. Due to the breadth and severity of damage caused by this storm system, we plan to be working in this area into September.

Overnight volunteers will be housed at New Covenant Bible Church, also in Cedar Rapids, starting Aug. 16.

Please pray for those hurting after this disaster and for our volunteer teams as we respond in Jesus’ Name.

Volunteers present a Billy Graham Study Bible to a homeowner we helped in Iowa.

VOLUNTEERS PRESENT A BILLY GRAHAM STUDY BIBLE TO A HOMEOWNER WE HELPED IN IOWA.

Dan and Krupa said it was exciting to see Samaritan's Purse pull into town to serve in Jesus' Name after the damaging…

Posted by Samaritan's Purse on Sunday, August 23, 2020

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Iowa Storm Help

First thing first! If you are still in need of help, here is a resource that might be able to help you! Volunteer and Donations options too.


IowaStormHelp.com
Official website of the Iowa Derecho Storm Resource Page

Donate: Looking to help but don’t have time or physical resources? They have three ways to give relief funds. 

Volunteer: Looking for ways to help? Please use the form on the “I can donate” page. This will help others see what you are working with. THANK YOU for helping in our time of need!


https://eightdaysofhope.com//

Cedar Rapids, Iowa, along with many other areas across the Midwest, experienced extreme weather on Monday night resulting in extensive damage to homes and properties. Hundreds of thousands are without power and many trees are down as a result of the storm. God has called us to love and serve, and that is exactly what we plan to do.  We will serve in Cedar Rapids from August 15th – September 5th. 

If you need help, please contact St. Mark’s Lutheran Church. Email communications@faith-life.org OR rapidresponse@eightdaysofhope.com

If you can volunteer help, Volunteer with the EDOH crew. You do need to pre-register. at https://eightdaysofhope.com and click the BLUE VOLUNTEER button to get started.


Samaritan’s Purse U.S. DISASTER RELIEF

Cedar Rapids, IA Storm Response
Assist homeowners after the recent storm.

Minimum Age: Volunteers must be at least 14 years of age or older. Youth, ages 14-15, must be accompanied by their parent/legal guardian and youth, ages 16-17, must be accompanied by an adult chaperone unless the team is registered as a youth group. Youth groups may serve with Samaritan’s Purse and are required to complete a Youth Leader Covenant. Please read more information about our Youth Policy in the FAQ section.

Local / Day Volunteers: If you are local to the area, we welcome you to serve for the day. Please contact a Volunteer Coordinator at 828-588-5711 at least 24 hours in advance to be scheduled to serve. You will then be given directions regarding arrival at our host location: Hillside Wesleyan Church, 2600 1st Ave. NW, Cedar Rapids, IA 52405. Orientation takes place at 7:30 a.m. or 12:30 p.m. Volunteers will work Monday – Saturday, beginning Friday August 14, 2020 at 7:30 a.m.. Day volunteers will need to bring a bagged lunch, water, and hand sanitizer.

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IowaDerecho2020.com is now Iowa Storm Help

Image of the derecho storm as it moves across Iowa on August 10, 2020

IowaDerecho2020.com is Now Migrated to IowaStormHelp.com

I made this website after driving around Eastern Iowa and seeing all the different vehicles from all over the USA responding to the natural disaster that happened here on August 10,2020. That was early Monday afternoon when the unpredictable Strom came across Iowa.

I was working that day, driving my garbage route in real Iowa City.  I was listening to a AM radio station saying Des Moines (Iowa) was experiencing high winds of 70 MPH! At that time, about 10:00 am there wasn’t any severe storm warnings posted for Eastern Iowa.  By Noon CST, the skys were starting to get dark.

It was a very warm (maybe even hot) Augest morning but by 12:25 pm I could tell the temperature was dropping.  Looking Westward, the sky was extremely very dark! I knew this wasn’t good, so I pulled my garbage truck into a driveway of a customer and waited for the storm out.

By 12:45 pm the wind and rain was a full force. I watched as the force of the wind took out a tree about 20 feet tall. I moved my truck out under some power lines just in case the came down. The strong wind/rain lasted about 45 minutes and I still had about 3 hours work left to do. All I wanted to do was finish my route and get home to check on my mobile home! Every where was without power now and all the gas Stations were shut down but I was luck as my fuel take was haft full.

When I get home, there were large tree branches everywhere but none of them hit my trailer.  My power was off the rest of the day and early Tuesday morning around 2:00 am it came back on for about one minute.  It did this again about an hour later and finally stayed on around 4:00 am.  I know how lucky I am and in the days the following the #Derecho storm I learned how bad it could have been.

If you have a story to share, please let me know. I’d love to share on here so everyone can learn who most of #Iowa went through in the #IowaDerecho2020!

Please email and pictures,  videos and stories kent.dolezal@iowaderecho2020.com

I am Praying for your recovery ❤

Kent

 

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The Helpers

Please tell us who you think should be Thanked for all their hard work with the recovery? Please give full names and locations of individuals. If a company helped you, please list only the ones that you know helped you. Give any company web sites and or Social media links that you know of.

Lets show our THANKS to anyone and everyone who’s help with recovery in Iowa. Please send me any info on who has helped you the most. Try to include any Company names and towns/States they are from. Web sites and or other social midia likes would be nice way to link back to our “HELPERS“. In the comming months I will be putting together lists by Towns and groups, like Organizations, Private companies, Utilties/City Departments, and Individuals.

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Iowa Derecho damages electric poles in Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Welcome to IowaDerecho2020.com

This website is a way for all of Iowa to pay thanks to everyone who’s helped in our recovery. I will be adding much more as I have time, so please come back offten. If you know of someone that’s help you in your recovery, please let me know. I will be making a list, by cities of all the people, organizations and business that has help Iowa in the recovery from the Derecho. This will take time but will show everyone who’s watching us how important all this help is.

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10.10.2020 A day that changed Iowa

On August 10, 2020, an unusually strong and long-lasting line of thunderstorms, a derecho battered vast swaths of Iowa and the U.S. Midwest. More than a week after the storm, tens of thousands of Iowans were still without electric power, and many farmers were mulling whether they could salvage crops and repair grain silos before the coming harvest.

STRONG WIND DURATION

One thing that makes this derecho stand out is how long the strong winds lasted in parts of eastern Iowa (particularly around Linn/Cedar counties).

  • Strong winds, ranging from 80 to 140 mph, were ongoing for 40 to 50 minutes
  • Typically the strong winds only last 10 to 20 minutes in a derecho
  • According to the National Weather Service, the longest they had heard previously of strong winds lasting was up to maybe 30 minutes (in a derecho in Missouri in 2009).

Peak winds have been estimated so far at 110-140 mph, which makes this one of the strongest derechos on record.

  • According to research, the peak wind gust of 140 mph estimated in Cedar Rapids is among the strongest in derechos in the U.S.
  • The recorded wind gust of 126 in Atkins (Benton County) is the highest gust recorded from a storm (outside of a tornado)
  • The previous record was 123 mph in Washington, Iowa during the 1998 Corn Belt Derecho
  • The winds estimated in the Corn Belt Derecho in central Iowa were that of an “F2 tornado, 110 to 155 mph”
  • The winds in the 2011 Derecho in Benton County were estimated at 110 to 130 mph

The derecho covered an area nearly 800 miles wide in the Midwest with hurricane-force winds topping 100 miles per hour. It lasted 14 hours, destroying or severely damaging thousands of homes, schools and businesses while uprooting countless trees that had stood for over a century, helping take power lines down with them. The storm knocked out power to more than 1 million people in the Midwest. While most of the power has been restored, Cedar Rapids was one of the hardest hit cities.

Cedar Rapids Mayor Brad Hart said the storm and the damage left in its wake was unprecedented for the city.”I lived in Houston and I lived through some hurricanes, so some describe this as a land hurricane where we had these sustained winds for 45 minutes. It just didn’t stop,” he said. “And that doesn’t happen in Iowa. We have tornadoes, and the path of tornadoes … is much more narrow.”

Hart said the destruction was made worse due to the width of the derecho.”This wiped out our entire county,” he said. “There was no power in the city and much of the county, people didn’t have cell service. The streets were impassible. It was horrific.”With utilities companies working around the clock to restore electricity to about 12,000 customers still without power, hot water and air conditioning should hopefully be back on for everyone soon.

This derecho is among the strongest in Iowa and in the United States

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