Roughly a year ago, Iowans suffered one of the worst storms on record.
On Aug. 10, that storm, known as a derecho, swept through the Midwest, leveling trees, crops, farm buildings and homes across a huge swath of Iowa. Power lines were toppled, cell service was disrupted and Iowans were left to pick up many, many pieces.
It was a traumatic weather event, leaving many of us shocked by the damage locally, as well as in locales like Cedar Rapids and Marion. Driving into those larger communities even weeks to months after the storm and seeing the huge piles of brush lining city streets was surreal, that we weathered a storm with sustained winds for upwards of an hour.
And following the storm, the communities of Mount Vernon and Lisbon do what they did best.
They came together and helped with the clean-up efforts.
As both Lisbon city administrator Brandon Siggins and Mount Vernon city administrator Chris Nosbisch noted, the clean-up following the storm happened so quickly because of the efforts of citizens helping.
“That’s the key thing I remember about the derecho, is how citizens worked together following the derecho to help with cleanup of their property or neighbor’s property,” Siggins said.
“It’s a testament to the people who live here that we were able to have most of our storm clean up completed in the course of a little more than a week,” Nosbisch said.
As Siggins noted that while these communities show minor indications of the damage even a year later, it is going to take far more time and distance for all of the damage and scars from that storm to clearly fade away.
Sun Editorial: Derecho showed resolve of Mount Vernon, Lisbon communities
August 5, 2021