CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – Monday marks six years since Cedar Rapids took a direct hit from the costliest thunderstorm in US history.
On August 10, 2020, a cluster of thunderstorms developed in South Dakota and raced across the midwest along a 770 mile stretch that extended all the way to Ohio, leaving windespread wind damage along its path.
The storm was labeled a “Derecho” due to the long track of the strom and widespread wind damage. Entire fields of corn were blown flat, and the storm caused an estimated $7.5 billion in damage between South Dakota and Ohio.
Cedar Rapids received the strongest thunderstorm winds, where gusts reached 140 miles per hour and lasted for 45 minutes or longer.
Every square mile of Cedar Rapids was damaged by the storm and every resident impacted, which makes the storm more devastating on a city-wide scale than the 2008 flood.
Over 100,000 trees were damaged or destroved by the storm and Cedar Rapids lost over 60 percent of its tree canopy. The storm also left Cedar Rapids residents without power for a week or more, and communication became extremely difficult due to cellular and internet outages from storm damage.
Unfortunately, the storm also claimed the lives of three Iowans. Chris Keller, 41, a utility worker for the city of Brooklyn, was killed when he was electrocuted by downed power lines.
Samantha Wierson, 42, a volunteer firefighter and EMS worker, died when a tree fell on her home in Malcom.
The storm also killed 63-year-old Thomas Rowland of Solon. The Linn County Sheriff’s Office said a falling tree hit him while he rode his bike on a trail near Ely Road and Wright Brothers Boulevard.
In the wake of the storm, Cedar Rapids came together as a community to clean up the storm damage and rebuild. These efforts continue today, including the ongoing planting of tens of thousands of new trees to replace those lost in the storm.
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