Our UWOL team member and good friend Kevin Railsback is in the middle of dealing with a terrible flooding situation in Iowa. His city, Cedar Rapids, was evacuated and Des Moines, the capital city, is next.

The Ceder Rapids story was the lead story on our Colorado local news last night...cars floating down main street, a railroad bridge swept away by the water. It looks nasty.

I think they shut off all of the power in his city, so he probably doesn't have internet or web access right now, but I always think it helps, in some to send as much UWOL love out to our players as we can.

Hope you're staying safe and dry, Kevin.

Wow - sounds nasty - we're copping a bit of rain on this side of the world but nothing like that. Hope you and yours keep safe & dry Kevin

Hope you and your family are OK, Kevin.

My thoughts are with ya Bro...stay safe

Brian

God bless you Kevin, and your family also. Be safe. Let us know how we can help. Colorado is dry at the moment, and we have a guest bedroom and we can put others on the floor around the house. This is no joke. You can help me with the farm chores...

Cato

Our thoughts and prayers are with you Kevin

Kevin, hope everything is Ok with you and your familiy! And that the situation will improve in the days to come!

Take care!
Per Johan

Hi Kevin,

Flooding is a nasty thing. Hope you and your family are ok.
My thoughts are with you!


Trond

Kevin... I try to send a drysuit over... (sorry)

I hope you and your family is ok... I'll be thinking about you...

MArkus

He may not be able to finish his UWOL entry because of the situation, but our boy did manage to put up some quickie footage of the flood in his town and, according to an e-mail that he sent me, he and his wife are feeding all the abandoned animals -- if that isn't pure Kevin!

http://www.silverphoenixllc.com/500_Year_Flood.html

I flew in to Cedar Rapids on Tuesday evening and left on Wednesday evening. Just in time to miss the flood. I saw the water approaching the bridges when I arrived, and the bridges were all shut down except the one over the river that I needed (the highway) by the time I left.

It was pretty dramatic. But at that time, the news was all about how they had saved Cedar Falls with sandbags. I was lucky that our business meeting was when it was, and not a day later.

Good luck Kevin...and take care.

I also have other friends in that area, plus the Quad cities and Cedar Falls...
Not to mention a few friends in SW Wisconsin which is also being hit hard...
Tough times for all...

Kevin,

I wish you and your family well and a quick recovery from this mess.

Regards,

Oliver Pahlow

___________________
www.blindchildproductions.com

Wow, thanks for all the kind words and messages of support!

My family has been blown away when I tell them I've been getting emails from all over the world checking up on me. UWOL truly is a family and a great one at that.

It's been incredible the response we've had here. A shelter puts out a request for pillows and over 1000 pillows show up in just a couple of hours.

Target has been incredible. They've been shipping in semi loads of blankets, bottled water, you name it. They've been telling the city let us know what you need and we'll do our best to get it here.

PetSmart has shipped in a huge truck with pet supplies and are bringing in another one tomorrow.

I have to tell you, Angi and I broke down into tears when we were dropping off supplies to the makeshift animal shelter at Kirkwood College today.

We had brought over as much dog and cat food as we could afford. We also picked up a lot of toys for the animals to play with to help pass the time while they wait for their owners to find them.

When we walked into the room it was incredible to see the amount of supplies that people had brought in. As we were leaving more people were pulling up with bags upon bags of food, bowls, newspapers, you name it.

But what really got us was the line of people searching for their pets that had to be left behind as the flood waters rose.

The parking lot was filled with animals rescue vehicles from all over the Midwest. It was really something to see the outpouring of love for all these animals. We're going to try and stop by tomorrow to help clean cages, walk dogs etc. They're estimating almost 1000 animals will be there by the end of the week.

Even the number of birds at my feeders has increased. I had to go out an buy more bags of seed because they are snapping it up like you wouldn't believe.

It's also been really something to see people helping each other. One business had sand bagged their sports bar only to realize that there was no way they could save the building. So they loaded up all their sandbags and helped place them around a competitors sports bar because it had a better chance of surviving.

We were on our way out to help sandbag when we noticed our own basement was taking on water. So, a mad dash across town to get pumps etc which Lowe's had brought up from Texas in semi loads, and we managed to keep the water from doing more than soaking the carpet. So, while we're in between dropping off supplies to the animal shelters or running jugs of water to friends who are on water rationing, we''re trying to dry our own home out.

I even managed to squeeze out a few frames for my UWOL entry. :)
It's not going to be much at all but I said I'd enter something even if it was paint drying.
Course, it might be carpet drying, you never know. :)

The river crested here yesterday but the towns below us are just starting to flood badly. They say the river won't fall below flood stage now until Friday.

Since I made my little video on our way to get supplies, the number of city blocks under water had jumped from 400+ to over 1300 city blocks. That's just Cedar Rapids. small towns all around are still totally under water. Other know it's coming and are trying to evacuate while they still can.

My wife's old law office was all under water and a total loss. They are setting up offices in her current building to house as many attorney's as they can who need to set up an office while they are rebuilding. They may battle each other in the courts but when it comes to things like this, they band together because they know it could have just as easily been them.

So, travel is still limited. To get to Iowa City, normally like a 30 mile trip requires a 281 mile detour because there are so many roads under water.

So, that's kind of it at the moment. Sorry for the ramble but I've been running down to check the fans and dehumidifiers and forgot what I was going to say. :)

Hopefully the worst is over. It rained enough today to they say the river will stop falling for a bit. More rain coming in tomorrow.

Thank you again for all your kind words and encouragement. My wife and I have both been deeply touched by the caring and concern from my UWOL family.

Amazing stories you have to tell Kevin! Really wonderful to hear how kind and generous people are when disaster strikes.
So glad to hear that your home wasn’t totally inundated by the flood waters - and that hopefully, as you say, the worst is over for you now. You are in our thoughts and prayers.

As the waters go down you can really tell how much damage has been done. It's actually scarier looking than when water covered everything. It looks like a nuclear bomb went off in the areas that the water has receded from.

Still more great tales coming in as the waters move downstream.

Columbus Junction is a half mile from where the Cedar and Iowa Rivers meet. They had been putting up a huge effort to try and save their town. They finally lost their water plant to the rising waters. Their levee's weren't looking to hold. So, they turned away 300-400 National Guardsmen who were coming to help and said our town is a lost cause. Go to Oskaloosa and try to save their town instead.

It's incredible how people just say how can we help? What do you need?

There's only been one dark cloud in the whole thing having to do with a major retailer but I don't shop there anyway. :)

Target is bringing in yet another truck of essentials for the people staying in the shelters. They have been incredible.

I took a little time today to try and get some filming done. Don't want Catherine chewing me out for not getting an entry in. :)

Wow, what can I say. Last year we had 3 feet of water outside our house and we had a hard time of it - it pales into insignificance alongside what you're going through..... Good luck, i hope things work out well!!

Glad you made it out of that deal safe Kevin. I've got experience floating by your house on a river that used to be a road. Rough times but you are right, people really shine under those circumstances. Good luck brother.

Well, things are starting to dry out here a bit. The river is still over flood stage so there are still parts of the city under water.

Early estimates to clean up the city are coming in at $1,000,000,000.00. Yep, that's a billion bucks.

Highways, streets are totally torn up. The bridges are still closed until they can be inspected.
So many pets have been taken in by the temporary shelters that they are now limiting them to three pets per household. How would you like to have to pick who could go to the shelter and who couldn't?

They were in need of blankets and towels so we made a run over there today to drop a bunch of that stuff off to them.

I have an idea for my film and hopefully I can find the time to get it done before the deadline.

I imagine this time next year we'll still be cleaning the city up.

The flood waters continue to move downstream flooding out city after city.

Kevin:

Your commentary makes my heart ache. What can I do? How can I help the animals? Is there anything I can organize here in Colorado? How is your home surviving? It sounds like you have close calls but are okay? I am so very sorry for this devastating loss. Can I stage a supply drop off here and send things to you? I am at your service. Let me know what I can do. In a very small way we are a kindred spirit here. We have been enduring months of hardship and loss with a fox ravaging our chickens. It takes a grieving heart sometimes, to enable us to stand with other's loss. I really want to help.

Sincerely,

Cat

Hey Cat,

I think you could help out by finding a way to get me a HPX 3000 HD camera! :) I could use it to document the flood! :)

One thing I know I will do is to shop at the places that have come to the aid of the people and animals in Iowa. I used to shop at Petco but now that PetSmart has brought in truck load after truckload of supplies for abandoned pets, I'll start shopping there now. So, I think small gestures like that can make a difference.

Target has been great. They've also been bringing in truckload after truckload of supplies for the shelters etc.

But other than supporting the companies that have been so great to Cedar Rapidians, I don't know of much else. If I hear of anything else, I'll let you know.

Well, I just checked KCRG.com and they had this about the temporary pet shelter:

Donations
We have been overwhelmed by the generosity of the community and we thank everyone for their assistance to meet our short-term and immediate needs.

At this point, we are receiving many donations of needed items from companies such as PetSmart Charities, Hill's/Science Diet, the Cedar Rapids Gazette.

Our primary need is for cash donations which will be used for those items not easily donated by the public or companies, such as supplies for the many volunteers needed to support the hundreds of animals the facility is caring for. We specifically do not need animal food, crates, or newspapers. We could use clean towels and blankets. These can be dropped off at the Animal Health Technology Center at Kirkwood Community College.

Cash donations can be made to the Kirkwood Foundation, c/o "Friends of the Cedar Rapids Animal Shelter "(please put this in the memo section of the check) and mailed to 6301 Kirkwood Community College, 6301 Kirkwood Blvd. SW, Cedar Rapids, IA 52406

Volunteers

The Cedar Rapids Animal Shelter has many partners such as the Humane Society of Missouri, Humane Society of the United States, United Animal Nations, Code3, who are providing personnel for rescue and sheltering purposes to address our short-term needs.

The organization does still need local volunteers to fill the following needs:
• Registered Veterinary Technicians
• Veterinary Assistants
• Veterinarians
• Administrative support
• Experienced kennel workers
• Kennel support for essential work needed to support the shelter such as washing bowls, cage cleaning, etc.

Local volunteers will be needed for many weeks. Please stay in touch for the future.

At this point, out-of-state volunteers are not needed unless you have been deployed with an agency who is officially responding at the request of Cedar Rapids.

Our Partners

Our efforts would not be possible without the support of the agencies and organizations which have stepped forward to provide much-needed assistance.

• Animal Health Technology Center at Kirkwood Community College
• Cedar Rapids Gazette
• Code3
• Hill's/Science Diet
• Humane Society of Missouri
• Humane Society of the United States Animal Rescue Team
• Kirkwood Community College
• PetSmart Charities

I'm hoping to get a good royalty check from one of my stock footage houses, so maybe I can send them a decent donation to help out. I'm a firm believer that you get back what you give but I do it cause of my love for the animals. I don't care if it generates good karma or not.
They've opened up the bridges in downtown now. No power so there's all kinds of fender benders cause people are driving like fools.

My wife got a close up look at her old office downtown. Totally destroyed.

Cedar Rapids is an industrial town and pretty much most of the industry was on the river. So plants are telling people to file for unemployment and maybe they will have jobs if the company decides to rebuild.

We've been busy checking in with all our friends around the state. So far they all seem to be fine in spirit.

Hopefully tomorrow I can try and get some more footage for my UWOL entry. Might be the only wildlife film with no wildlife. :)

O.K.

Check is in the mail.... as well as the HPX 3000 HD camera (ha! I only wish!!!). Now, about clean towels and blankets....

Should I start a campaign to collect those and send them out?

I'll start this towels and blankets thing until someone tells me to stop.

Get that UWOL footage in of no wildlife. This is a strange go around anyway.... Trond doesn't have a working computer and we are trying to get him to ship his tape to Per to download and send some clips to me to put together so he can avoid the tank...

Goodbye to the competition, hello to the community spirit, on many different levels!

Thanks for the info. It's frustrating not being able to pitch in somehow!

Cato

Well, tomorrow morning the river here is FINALLY going to drop below flood stage.

It's been amazing to see how much progress has been made already. The city is busy cleaning up and assessing the damage. They're saying it could be as long as ten years before the effects of the flood are gone.

Bush was in town yesterday and said he hasn't seen it this bad since Katrina.

More roads are opening every day and a lot of companies are digging in and saying we're not going to let this beat us.

For many though, the road will be long and tough. Once the flood is out of the headlines and agencies move farther down stream to deal with those floods, people will be left to deal with things on their own.

But, Iowan's have a tough work ethic and I have no doubt we'll continue to band together and help out our neighbors.