As many as 27 homes, the old general store and the stone elementary school will be flattened. The historic bank and at least one home must still be cleared for destruction by the state historical society. The future of the church is uncertain.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency approved a $1.6 million buyout in January 2005... Property owners in the two (also Garber, IA) towns were paid 110 percent of the pre-flood assessed value. Homeowners were also given a $10,000 relocation benefit, while renters received $5,000.
Some have criticized the government for taking too long to disperse payments, which in some cases forced residents to pay taxes on land and property considered(!) worthless.
Elkport and Garber also were flooded in 1999 when the Turkey and Volga rivers spilled over their banks, the first flood since 1949 when the dike was raised.
Inside the Elkport/Garber Fire Department headquarters, Bolsinger sifts through a collection of historic photographs he and others are organizing for a scrapbook. Dozens of photographs show Elkport covered in water in 1908 and 1916, then again in the winter of 1922 when ice jams diverted the rivers through city streets.
"There's a lot of history with this kind of stuff," (Roger) Bolsinger (Mayor of Elkport) said. "Most of the people just didn't want to go through it again."
Most of the people didn't have insurance. So there wasn't access to a lot of different resources for repairs and elevation projects," said Dennis Harper of the Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Division.
Elkport will live on, residents said. The city is still incorporated and the three-member City Council will still meet monthly.
story | CNN
Posted by Stubbornson at September 26, 2006 06:50 AM