By Scott Olson, Skogman Commercial On Aug. 10, 2020, eastern Iowa was hit with a derecho. This is the Spanish word for a widespread, long-lived, straight-line windstorm that is associated with a fast-moving group of several thunderstorms. Winds in southwest Cedar Rapids were estimated to be 140 miles per hour with the entire city of 75 square miles sustaining major damage. The statistics are staggering: • Cedar Rapids lost 669,000 mature trees, about 70 percent of its urban canopy. The storm left at least 4.5 million cubic yards of debris. Stacked 35 feet tall and wide, it would extend a whopping 24 miles. • 6,000 homes and properties were damaged. As repairs and reconstruction got underway, the city issued 25,000 building permits in fiscal-year 2021, more than double the number in a typical year. • City government buildings suffered $20 million in damage, while the business community reported losses totaling $170 million. About $70 million of that was the result of derecho-related shutdowns or power outages. • The state cumulatively sustained $11.5 billion in damage, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which calls the Aug. 10 derecho “the costliest thunderstorm in U.S. history.” However, as evidenced in the …
