Power repair remains a high priority for many in the region who had to leave their groceries and sustain the persistent summer heat following the storm.
Alliant Energy, one of the main providers in the area, said at least 90% of those affected will have regained their power by midnight Tuesday.
Meanwhile
make shift food pantries have appeared around the state to help those in need, with at least five openings in Cedar Rapids, according to the source page of the city’s power update
Cedar Rapids resident and mother of five Pamela Smith told CNN branch KCRG on Monday that after days without power, $ 400 worth of groceries had to be dumped after the storm.
“We can not afford it,” Smith told KCRG. “The financial aspect is the hardest part. Make sure we have enough money for everything.”
Cedar Rapids was one of the cities hardest hit – with more than 800 buildings suffering from a roof, walls, ceiling or floors, Cedar Rapids Fire Chief Greg Smith said Friday. More than 20 school buildings in the city were also damaged.
“It’s like a battlefield,” veteran Tim Kipping, who served as a Marine in Desert Storm, told KCRG as he stood in front of a decimated apartment complex, where crews said they could smell the stench of rotting food . “Literally it looks like the building was hit with artillery shells.”
At least 50 people stayed Monday night in shelters in the city to get more space, the city of Cedar Rapids said in
a tweet. About 50 people were taken to the hospital for treatment after the storm.
The governor has said restoration of power is a ‘major priority’. President Donald Trump is expected to state on Tuesday the state will try to investigate the damage.
Midwesterners helping each other
Those whose homes are still viable are trying to clear trees and other debris as they deal with continuous power outages.
“In the modern era of working from home, it means we can do absolutely nothing because there is no internet, nothing,” resident Grinnell Adam Albright told CNN affiliate KCCI.
What has shone following the storm is the Midwestern spirit, with neighbors helping neighbors and people jumping in to help clear up the damage.
“A lot of us are going to come out and make sure we clean up, but we’re really worried about the people in town who don’t have power yet,” Grinnell resident Sarah Smith told the branch. “We try to make sure we look for these people and get them the help they need.”
Over the weekend, Soldiers worked with the 831st Engineer Company to clear dead trees so a substance supplying power to Cedar Rapids could be reached for repair, the Iowa National Guard tweeted.
Cleaning crews from as far away as South Carolina have traveled to the state to help out, the governor said in a
tweet Monday, thank you. Wisconsin residents Dave and Diane Lobermeier drove more than 300 miles to drop off supplies in Cedar Rapids before taking a chainsaw to cut down trees in the street, KCRG reported.
“It’s people helping people,” Dave Lobermeier told the branch. “It’s what Midwesterners do,” Diane Lobermeier added.
CNN’s Raja Razek contributed to this report.
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