His summer? A disaster

COUNCIL BLUFFS -- Sam Irwin of Council Bluffs was at it again this summer, helping with disaster relief efforts in flooded areas in Iowa and Nebraska.

In August, Irwin was deployed with the American Red Cross to central Iowa. An Omaha man and Hastings, Neb., woman were also deployed for the effort, as well as Red Cross volunteers from Minnesota, Missouri, Arkansas and Illinois, according to Michell Bose, senior manager of response and preparedness for the Loess Hills Chapter.

Irwin spent two days working in eastern Des Moines and three days in Colfax. The Des Moines area Red Cross needed help, because several hundred volunteers were already providing first aid and water at the State Fair.

"Because the State Fair was going on, we had to stay in Ames," he said. "There weren't any hotel rooms in Des Moines."

During his first two days, Irwin drove an Emergency Response Vehicle and helped distribute supplies in an area of eastern Des Moines where a creek had gone out of its banks. Emergency Response Vehicles were brought in from Ottumwa and Fort Dodge, Irwin said.

Volunteers went "almost door to door" to see if residents needed cleaning supplies or equipment and distributed comfort kits, cleaning kits and ice water to flood victims. Besides water, workers also gave out Girl Scout cookies and other snacks.

"They were just getting to the point where the water was receding and they could get back in," he said. "The people really (appreciated) the van going through the neighborhoods."

Volunteers also helped identify areas of need, Irwin said.

"We kind of became the eyes and ears for management," he said. "We picked up and talked to the victims. So many of them talked about 1993 but said this was a lot worse than 1993."

Besides flooding along the creek, there was flooding along the Raccoon River in Des Moines. The only residential areas flooded by the river were a couple apartment buildings, he said.

Irwin and his group provided logistical support in Colfax, where the Red Cross was operating a shelter for flood victims.

"We basically helped move supplies, and they moved the shelter from the high school in Colfax to the First Christian Church," because school was about to begin for the fall semester, he said.

Culver's restaurant in Newton took meals to the shelter daily while it was operating. Hy-Vee Food Stores also provided some products. Allied Insurance set up tents to distribute cleaning supplies, and Target provided some of the supplies.

"It's kind of neat to see the community pulling together, especially in a large disaster like this," he said.

Colfax had its water service interrupted, and one area in Des Moines also did.

Irwin also transported supplies to other cities, he said.

"We hauled a lot of products," he said. "They were a bunch of really good people to work with."

Irwin also drove to Oskaloosa in southeast Iowa to see what equipment and supplies were needed there, he said.

"Oskaloosa was the big, scary one," he said. "They almost lost their water treatment plant."

A small number of homes were flooded in Oskaloosa, but water and services were a concern.

Irwin, who has been deployed for several disaster relief projects by Nechama, another relief organization, has been taking classes for the past year so he could help the Red Cross. In June, he was deployed to the King Lake, Neb., area, where he helped in a shelter in Elkhorn, Neb., for one day and drove an ERV for three days.

"We can no longer keep saying 'it can't happen to us,'" he said. "You never know what Mother Nature's going to do."

« Community

Share