Cleanup Continues One Week After Dubuque Flood

Valley Hill trailer park in Dubuque, Iowa, starts to recover one week after the floods. (DALLAS HOUTZ/KCRG)

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By Aaron Hepker

Story Created: Aug 4, 2011 at 11:10 AM CDT

Story Updated: Aug 4, 2011 at 1:27 PM CDT

DUBUQUE, Iowa — One week ago torrential rains flooded Dubuque. Water rushed into homes, tore apart streets and left many with a mess.

After seven days of work and damage assessments, Mayor Roy Buol says the city is dealing with about $3.5 million in damage. That number doesn’t include homes.

According to the mayor, 5,000 homes have some sort of damage from the storm.

While the city is still a work in progress, seven days isn’t enough to make much of a difference to those who lost everything.

“I finally broke down yesterday, locked myself in the bedroom and cried for about an hour. A person can only be so strong,” said Flood Victim Jessica Hohnecker.

Some in Dubuque say they had to be rescued by boat last Thursday morning. They say returning to normal will take time.