Derecho Anniversary

Cedar Rapids couple Bob and Carmen find a way through a year of derecho repairs and challenges. It’s been a year of work and worry, thankfulness and frustration.

A year after the derecho, one Cedar Rapids woman who started feeding her neighborhood three meals a day still is helping the people who have become her friends

Officials still are finishing formal after-action reviews focusing on what lesson were learned and what steps should be taken to more urgently come to the aid of citizens who — days after the storm — frequently struggled to find food and gas and often shelter. Reports are expected later this month.

City employees and community volunteers continue going door to door to help identify remaining obstacles residents are facing in derecho recovery and to refer them to available resources.

Finding affordable, adequate and safe housing has become even more difficult in our community — especially for those in this most vulnerable population

It will take the entire community working together to restore what has been lost so that the next generation can access these essential benefits. We all can help by planting native Iowa trees, shrubs and landscape plants.

The photos in this collection were chosen out of the hundreds taken by Gazette photojournalists during and following the Aug. 10, 2020, derecho in Cedar Rapids and surrounding areas in Eastern Iowa.

The post-traumatic stress was real, and a lot of it had to do with loss of trees we had grown attached to — some of which landed on roofs and greeted people inside their homes when they fell.

At Matthew 25’s urban farm, the greenhouse roof blew off, trees dropped and crops were flattened. The neighborhoods where Matthew 25 works and beyond, were turned into a shattered mess

Marion has made tremendous progress in one year since the Aug. 10 derecho

Four Oaks, Jane Boyd and the Affordable Housing Network, Inc., remain committed to ensuring the success of the children and families we serve.

Since its creation, the PATCH program has assisted in over 200 projects. PATCH is a wonderful example of what we can accomplish by working together, but it is just one example of many.