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American Morning
Iowa Resident Learned Lessons From '93 Flood
Aired April 26, 2001 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: We begin this morning with the lingering high water and the lingering worries along the Mississippi River. In towns where the river has crested, residents are keeping watch now on the levees and the sandbags that they've put up, hoping that they'll hold back the floodwaters. And we think the words "so far, so good."
CNN's Jeff Flock has a look at how residents of one river town are coping this morning. He joins us live from Pleasant Valley, Iowa -- Jeff.
JEFF FLOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Leon, good morning to you.
We are coming to you right from the middle of the water. Perhaps from this long perspective you see where we're standing here. This entire community of Pleasant Valley, Iowa pretty much inundated with the water.
We go to the perspective here -- you see, we're up on a deck here. Every house in town has water up in it in some fashion. And it's because they're so close, of course, to the river.
Take a look out here, Leon, you can see -- this is the Mississippi. And it doesn't get any better than this when you think of a view of the Mississippi. But these folks really have to live with it.
Lisa and Dan Behrens were good enough to let us come on in their house this morning and see how they are. You can see they've got a nice fire burning here, because the heat is turned off at the moment. But they do have power and they are in good shape.
Lisa, good morning to you.
LISA BEHRENS, PLEASANT VALLEY RESIDENT: Good morning.
FLOCK: Thanks for letting us see how you're doing with this. We want to bring you down into the basement because that is where the water is. But really, it's where it isn't. And if you follow me around here, you can see that we are way beneath the water level.
Rick, come on around. And it's difficult to wind our way around here. But I just want to give you a sense of this. We showed these folks last hour and people said, "We really want to see this story again because" -- take a look at what they've done.
Dan has constructed, essentially, a flood wall around the lower level of his home and take a look at it there. That is the Mississippi. And Dan, you're holding it back at this hour. How are you doing?
DAN BEHRENS, PLEASANT VALLEY RESIDENT: We're doing great. The only problem I can see right now is if the plywood should get saturated, then we might have a problem that way. But as far as right now, we're doing real good.
FLOCK: There's been a lot of criticism of people who get washed away, need a bail out, that sort of thing. But you don't need a bailout, because you're actually in pretty good shape right here, right now.
BEHRENS: Yes, well, after the '93 flood, I did my homework and we did her. And this is it -- this is proof of the pudding.
FLOCK: We've got another perspective outside, obviously -- looked at your garage and we see your garage from the outside -- you're drowned down here. But here we are -- we're almost -- we feel like the little Dutch boy here behind the dike -- is the way you got it.
BEHRENS: Yes.
FLOCK: And this is steel-reinforced concrete, correct?
BEHRENS: Correct, correct -- and it runs the whole width of the garage. And then the little door there -- doorway there that I slap the plywood up on and the hose for the gasket and...
FLOCK: Right, I was going to say you've got a gasket that keeps the water -- there's a little hose in there, I don't know if you're able to see that, Rick -- but there's a gasket in there that keeps the water tight.
Before we get away -- one more thing I want to do -- and Rick, I'm going to sneak past you and maybe you can take our outside perspective while we fall over ourselves down here.
Dan, on his wall, has got a picture of what his home looks like in the '93 flood -- and there you are. That's what it looked like in '93. You did not have this same flood protection, so you had damage in '93, but you don't have it now.
BEHRENS: Correct. In '93, I had 25 inches of water in this room where we are now standing. So yes, I would say we definitely did some improvements.
FLOCK: Got you. And before we get away, just looking on the floor -- you got a little -- you're going to have to deal with the carpet here. But beyond that...
BEHRENS: A Wet Vac is a wonderful thing. (LAUGHTER)
FLOCK: I hear you. Good deal -- and one last thing. FEMA director's coming to town today; anything you want to say to him?
BEHRENS: Come on out -- I'll show you my ideas.
(LAUGHTER)
FLOCK: There you go. Dan, we thank you very much -- appreciate very much this morning this perspective. We will, of course, continue to watch the river levels and listen to the FEMA director later today when he gets to town.
That's the latest from here -- Leon, Linda, back to you.
HARRIS: Jeff, you know, I don't want to make light of it, but Mr. Behrens does seem to be in good spirits about it, so I can ask him something that was occurring to me as you guys were walking around his house? Has he ever gone fishing in his own garage?
FLOCK: Have you ever gone fishing, sir, in your own garage? Leon wants to know.
BEHRENS: No, not really. What I have done is I have fished off the deck.
(LAUGHTER)
FLOCK: Fished off the deck. Well, that's almost as good, Leon. Not quite as good, but that's almost as good.
(CROSSTALK)
BEHRENS: It's more sunnier (sic) up there.
FLOCK: Sunnier up there.
HARRIS: Well, I'll tell you, that's great. Iowans keeping up the good spirit.
BEHRENS: And it's a little closer to the refrigerator.
FLOCK: And closer to the refrigerator, he says. There you go.
HARRIS: Smart move, good deal -- all right, we'll check back with you later on, Jeff -- Jeff Flock reporting live this morning.
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