West DSM News

Triple-whammy flood victims in the state's southwest pocket have made their way north and east, after Waubonsie State Park ejected them two weeks ago to winterize the park.

Just four Hamburg-Percival-Pacific Junction-area residents were left during the second week of October, of some 80 who had been making the park their home since being displaced by Missouri River flooding. Flood waters ravaged those communities in March and May, then again in late-September.

Sen. Mark Costello, R-Shenandoah, said most residents have relocated to Glenwood, Council Bluffs and Sidney. Waubonsie State Park turned off water to its campsites on Oct. 15.

"There aren't tons of houses here. This is a really low-population area," Costello said, describing this portion of District 12. "Some people are fixing up houses and moving back in. A lot, I’m afraid, are not going to go back. The area is not under water now, but the farmland is water-logged."

Last week, Costello said the interstate at Honey Creek, north of Council Bluffs, sat submerged. 

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has provided some aid to the displaced, and funds from the Department of Housing and Urban Development could be on the way. 

The legislature recently allocated $15 million in aid for Iowa flood victims. Costello's county, Mills, received $12 million of that funding. Much of the money will be spent on levee repairs. Hamburg needs levees built to protect at 919 feet above the Missouri River. The original levees were built by the Army Corps of Engineers at 911 feet, he said. Implemental construction has raised them to 914 feet. 

"The flooding is likely to continue. We have really high levels of water," Costello said. "Some breaches have been fixed, but there's a level of uncertainty. It's discouraging some days. We're in for a long, tough haul."

Costello's district also includes Fremont, Montgomery, Page, Taylor and Ringgold counties.