A timeline of the derecho response in Iowa

Erin Jordan

Aug. 21, 2020 9:30 am, Updated: Aug. 21, 2020 3:26 pm

When a devastating derecho surprised Eastern Iowa on Aug. 10, there was little time to prepare.

Government officials and nonprofits now are assessing how they reacted. The Gazette put together a timeline of responses for the week after the storm.

Monday, Aug. 10

• 11:48 a.m.: National Weather Service issues first thunderstorm warning for Linn, Johnson, Keokuk, Benton, Iowa and Washington counties.

• 12:30 p.m.: Derecho hits Cedar Rapids metro area with widespread straight line winds of 80 to 100 mph and gusts of up to 140 mph, downing trees and power lines and damaging buildings and cars.

• Late afternoon:

Linn County Emergency Management asks state for end loaders, light trucks and trailers with portable lights for the City of Cedar Rapids, said Steve O'Konek, Linn County Emergency Management Agency coordinator.

• American Red Cross opens overnight shelter at Thomas Park in Marion.

Tuesday, Aug. 11

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• Morning:

State delivers end loaders, trucks and lights.

• Afternoon: Gov. Kim Reynolds visits Tama and Marion to see storm damage. Meets with local officials.

• Reynolds issues emergency declaration for Linn County and 19 other counties.

Wednesday, Aug. 12

•

Marion officials ask Sen. Liz Mathis, D-Hiawatha, to push for the Iowa National Guard to be deployed to Linn County, Mathis said. Mathis calls the governor's office.

Thursday, Aug. 13

• Late afternoon: State announces National Guard will deploy to Cedar Rapids. Guard members start arriving that evening.

Friday, Aug. 14

• National Guard engineers survey damage and determine mission will be helping with tree removal. Guard also sends Civil Support Team, which has communications, search-and-rescue and medical capabilities.

• Noon: Reynolds returns to Cedar Rapids for a noon news conference.

• Afternoon:

Red Cross opens overnight shelter at Palo Community Center.

• Evening: Red Cross opens overnight shelter at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in downtown Cedar Rapids.

Sunday, Aug. 16

• Noon: Cedar Rapids and various nonprofits, including the Zach Johnson Foundation, start twice daily meals at 11 distribution sites across Cedar Rapids and Hiawatha.

• Afternoon: Reynolds asks for expedited Presidential Major Disaster Declaration seeking nearly $4 billion.

Monday, Aug. 17

• Morning: President Donald Trump approves part of the request, totaling about $45 million in 16 counties. He did not approve individual assistance, agricultural damage to buildings or private utility repair, the Associated Press reported.

Comments: (319) 339-3157; erin.jordan@thegazette.com

A line of downed utility poles is seen blocking 18th Street SW in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020. (Andy Abeyta/The Gazette)

Members of Alpha Co., 224th Brigade Engineer Battalion of the Iowa National Guard move a downed tree so it can be cut easier as cleanup continues along 30th St. SE in southeast Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Saturday, Aug. 15, 2020. About 100 engineers with the Fairfield, Iowa, -based unit are assisting utility companies with debris removal so line work can progress as well as assisting with ice delivery to residents. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Spc. Lucas Burtlow of Mount Pleasant, Iowa, with the Alpha Co., 224th Brigade Engineer Battalion of the Iowa National Guard carries a cut tree limb as cleanup continues along 30th St. SE in southeast Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Saturday, Aug. 15, 2020. About 100 engineers with the Fairfield, Iowa, -based unit are assisting utility companies with debris removal so line work can progress as well as assisting with ice delivery to residents. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Electrical workers repairing downed power lines along Highway 13 near County. Home Rd. in Marion, Iowa, on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020. People are still cleaning up and without power after the Aug. 10 derecho storm. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

A heavily damaged building at an apartment complex in southwest Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020. People are still cleaning up and without power after the Aug. 10 derecho storm. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Passing drivers stop to help the driver of a tractor trailer after it overturned laying down in the northbound side of Interstate 380 near 76th Avenue SW in Cedar Rapids on Monday, Aug. 10, 2020. Two men worked to remove the windshield and the woman, a registered nurse, made her way into the cab to check on the driver who had no apparent injuries. The woman then took the driver to her car to sit with her and wait for an ambulance to arrive. (Andy Abeyta/The Gazette)

A section of roofing material is seen draping down from the side of Jefferson High School in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020. (Andy Abeyta/The Gazette)

Debris surrounds the Glovik Parish Center at St. Wenceslaus in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020, following a storm Monday afternoon. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)

An uprooted tree lifted the sod and sidewalk in Monday's storm. Photographed in northwest Cedar Rapids on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)

Debris surrounds the Glovik Parish Center at St. Wenceslaus in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020, following a storm Monday afternoon. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)

A section of roofing material is seen draping down from the side of Jefferson High School in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020. (Andy Abeyta/The Gazette)

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds tours the storm damage at Marion Square Park with Marion Mayor Nick AbouAssaly in Marion, Iowa, on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020. Reynolds and Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg saw the damage from Monday's inland hurricane as they visited communities across the state. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Grain bins were damaged and destroyed by the Iowa derecho on Monday, seen a day after the storm in rural Benton County on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020. The impact to the Iowa's farmland is expected to be widespread and devastating for Iowa farmers, according to state officials. (Michaela Ramm/The Gazette)

Sgt. Chris Peterson of Dyersville, Iowa, with the Alpha Co., 224th Brigade Engineer Battalion of the Iowa National Guard uses a chainsaw to cut limbs off a downed tree as cleanup continues along 30th St. SE in southeast Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Saturday, Aug. 15, 2020. About 100 engineers with the Fairfield, Iowa, -based unit are assisting utility companies with debris removal so line work can progress as well as assisting with ice delivery to residents. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

President Donald Trump listens to local leaders during a disaster recovery briefing in a hangar at the Eastern Iowa Airport in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020. (Andy Abeyta/The Gazette)

Volunteers Grace Zimmerman, 17, of Cedar Rapids, left, Moses Victoire of Cedar Rapids and Dave Glenn-Burns of Cedar Falls work a chain together to pass cases of water to cars with residents in need at the HACAP Mobile Food Pantry at Veteran's Memorial Stadium in Cedar Rapids on Friday, Aug. 14, 2020. (Andy Abeyta/The Gazette)

Gov. Kim Reynolds reviews notes before approaching the podium with Adjutant General of the Iowa National Guard Ben Corell for a press conference at the Central Fire Station in Cedar Rapids on Friday, Aug. 14, 2020. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)

Members of Alpha Co., 224th Brigade Engineer Battalion of the Iowa National Guard pull on a downed utility line as a technician with. Alliant Energy cuts the utility pole as work continues on debris removal along 30th St. SE in southeast Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Saturday, Aug. 15, 2020. About 100 engineers with the Fairfield, Iowa, -based unit are assisting utility companies with debris removal so line work can progress as well as assisting with ice delivery to residents. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)