ROCK VALLEY, IA (KELO) – Several people are still experiencing the lasting impacts of last summer’s flood in southeastern South Dakota and northwest Iowa. The national discussion on whether to eliminate a federal program that responds to disasters is raising questions.
In Rock Valley, Iowa, the town is still in the midst of recovering from last summer’s flood.
Elizabeth Vander Waal lost her car and several belongings inside her home. She said the water came above her countertops.
“It just was really hard to see,” Vander Waal said. “That water is so powerful. You never, never could imagine that.”
Many of the houses in Rock Valley are still uninhabitable, but FEMA money has been able to help several residents renovate their homes and even move back in.
Vander Waal was able to replace several items she’d lost. A lot of that was thanks to FEMA.
“FEMA well, whatever bills came in as far as sheetrock and flooring. I had to replace my car,” Vander Waal said.
On Monday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced plans to cut the program.
“We’re going to eliminate FEMA. We’ve got a lot to do,” Noem said earlier this week.
The idea raises questions for Vander Waal about how it would affect both the ongoing recovery and future disaster response. She said the she’s thankful for the money she did receive from FEMA.
“I don’t know if it’d be the government or the state. If it goes into the state, if the state can do as much as FEMA did, I would say let the state do it then,” Vander Waal said. “But I don’t know if they could.”
