Flood: Vinton rebuilds homes, downtown area

Angie Moore said she didn't believe the Cedar River would flood her home and antiques business in Vinton, but her husband had a different feeling.

'We started sandbagging the week before but then it came up so fast and higher than we thought,' Angie Moore said while standing in their new store, Red Cedar Antiques in Vinton, which is far from the river's edge and the former downtown store, off Highway 150.

Rod Moore said he and his son stayed behind with their dog and two cats after his wife and other children left. He knew the flood was coming but didn't want it to happen.

'A neighbor, who I didn't know at the time, took our dog and two others came in a boat later and rescued the cats out of the house,' Rod Moore said. 'I don't remember much (as water came up). At the same time I also lost my business (Sign Pro on Third Avenue SE) in Cedar Rapids.

About 100 homes in Vinton were flooded in June 2008 as the river crested at 24.7 feet. The city bought out 28 homes and one business, with about $2 million in FEMA funds. Those areas have been turned into green spaces, parks and a trail system. About six or seven homes were rebuilt.

The swirling waters also caused millions of dollars worth of damage to the electric utility building, the fire station and the Benton County Sheriff's Office and jail.

Rick Ohrt, acting manager of Vinton Municipal Electric Utility, said the force of the water caused the basement floor of the plant to explode.

'Three guys were down manning the pumps and the concrete just folded up like a teepee as 260 gallons exploded through the basement floor,' Ohrt said. 'Nobody was hurt. The pumps just couldn't keep up and it was a losing battle after that.'

Sheriff Randy Forsyth said the 8-foot sandbag wall around the enforcement center couldn't even hold back the force of the water.

'I think it was the swirling water going down the alley in between the buildings that made it worse and the sandbags just couldn't hold up,' Forsyth said.

Forsyth said after working about 24 hours, he left about 15 minutes before the water broke through the sandbags but he was back at work a few hours later.

Ohrt said fortunately they had an emergency electric tie from the regional utility company and brought in four generators on trailers to meet the town's energy needs. The electricity was back on for most residents the next day. The damage was repaired at a cost of $5.8 million in six to eight months.

Forsyth said the sheriff's office and jail were rebuilt on the same site, about four feet above the previous level. The sheriff's office and emergency services moved into another building and the courthouse while the $6.5 million FEMA project was completed and reopened in 2011.

Mayor John Watson, said everybody in the community pitched in to help each other and the city. The generators allowed the city's businesses to reopen quickly after the flood.

Andy Lent, city coordinator, said the community was fortunate because the rebuilding process went quickly. The renovations and rebuilding are completed in the flooded areas and the remaining work is to park areas and the trail system.

Looking back, Lent and Ohrt said the flood was devastating but the community did seem to bounce back in a short time, perhaps more so than in 2011 after a wind storm knocked out the power for more than week for some and took out 75 percent of Vinton's trees.