The night of Saturday, August 18, 2007, torrential rain began to fall in Fillmore, Winona, and Houston Counties. By the early hours of Sunday, the community of Rushford was flooded with water.
The community of 1,800 was awakened by emergency sirens and emergency personnel going door to door. Emergency crews evacuated the city, leaving an infamous “X” on every structure checked for stranded residents. The total reconstruction cost for the city was over $34 million.
While a levee system protects the city from flooding from both the Root River and Rush Creek, the more than 17 inches of rain that fell in 24 hours became swift water washing the creek over the levee banks. The wastewater plant, two of the city’s three wells, which supplied the city’s drinking water, and all electrical service shut down. More than half of the city’s 700 homes and 85 businesses were directly impacted in what was likened to a once in 500 year flooding event. The area was declared a federal disaster area by President Bush. An estimated $40 million was spent getting the city, businesses, and residents back on their feet and the financial impact still lingers today.
Ask residents there and some say they don’t want to think about another year since the flood. Others believe it’s important to mark the date. All radiate genuine gratefulness for those who stood by the community as it never gave up.
“We need to celebrate where we are today,” says Rushford Foods co-owner/operations manager Brad Hoiness. “To celebrate will show the volunteers and all those who came to Rushford that their efforts were critical to our recovery.”
“The community has recovered from the flood, but there are scars that remain. Everyone views the scars differently,” adds Rushford Chiropractic owner Dr. David Hinz. “I can’t help but look at what happened and be in awe of it all. That doesn’t make me so much want to celebrate it — it makes me just thankful for what we have.”
Prominent memories of that day still linger, too. “I remember the smell of the mud that was left behind — on sidewalks mostly — anytime it would rain, the dust would turn back into mud and smell the same,” recalls Rushford Ambulance Director Lynn Humble, who has served with the department for more than 33 years. She remembers other peculiarities — the constant rain, pagers continually sounding, being unable to cross the Rush Creek Bridge, and large loads of debris that eventually earned the dubious nickname, ‘Mount Mess’; lack of electricity, porta potties, and having to drive to Hart Township five miles away to get cell service and talk to families. “The list goes on and on,” she says.
“I remember realizing that the downtown was gone,” adds Hinz. “But we were all in the same boat, so I wasn’t in it alone.”
“We lost one of our ambulances, all of our supplies, and most of our files, but not one life out of the whole community was lost,” points out Humble.
Other memories even invoke a bit of humor, despite the fact that at the time, nothing seemed funny. “One thing I really remember is spending four hours in the IGA store trying to save food that was not flooded and seeing Jim Hoiness come walking through chest deep water with a huge beef loin above his head saying, ‘This is still good. We can eat it!’” Small victories and community spirit – They’re what kept the town from going under.
“Cleanup was the worst and volunteers worked tirelessly until it was done,” says Hoiness. “Many resources just showed up, from bobcats and four wheelers to the many tools that were needed to cut holes in the walls of the buildings and remove doors and windows. It really didn’t seem chaotic, but each day a lot of progress was made. There were many people behind the scenes working on our behalf, which we are very grateful for.”
There were certainly challenges along the way. Hoiness recalls the thought of what Rushford may be like if homeowners were not able to rebuild and stay and the grueling task of trying to put a business back together, while processing what had happened and trying to develop a plan to move forward. “Losing a business was a huge setback, but losing a home was life changing for sure.”
“It was a challenge going through the recovery process and wondering if we were going to make it through; trying to live a normal life in an abnormal situation.” notes Hinz.
The community met the task head on. “Just to do what we’ve always done; we never gave up and continued to work as a team,” says Humble, proudly. “The community came together as a whole.”
“The business community was in constant communication and assisted each other,” adds Hoiness. “Many service organizations were here to lead us such as Red Cross, Salvation Army, Lutheran Disaster Response/Lutheran Social Services, and Catholic Charities. The formation of Rushford Area Disaster Alliance for Recovery (RADAR) was huge in bringing resources to homeowners and families affected by the flood. Many of our elected state legislators were true partners and fought hard for our community to secure the resources needed to recover.”
Sometimes, those tragedies also create unexpected surprises. “Witnessing the countless volunteers and resources coming to our aid was something we will never forget,” continues Hoiness. “We are very fortunate and thankful to have the opportunity they gave us to rebuild and remain and community. This community would look much different today without the volunteers, service organizations, and general response by all that came in our time of need. I know I learned a lot about helping others and need to continue to find opportunities to pay it forward.”
“There were too many positives to count,” adds Hinz. “The workers, the volunteers, the donations – it was overwhelming. I couldn’t believe the distance people came to help. I feel the generosity eclipsed the tragedy of the flood.”
In the 10 years since the flood, the community has made impressive strides forward; some by necessity, some part of a plan to see the community continue to thrive for generations to come. Several road and infrastructure projects have given the city a fresh look, eliminated lead joints in underground watermains, located and sealed 300 contaminated sandpoint wells, replaced the city’s wastewater treatment plant with a new facility, and even served as a catalyst construction of a new school. New residents and businesses have come and a massive branding campaign brought a revitalized momentum to the area.
“We are fortunate to be where we are and 10 years later. I feel we are much further along in the physical recovery than many other communities that suffer far less damage than we did,” says Hoiness. “The Rushford community captured the attention of the media and volunteers for a length of time that brought us resources than many communities do not get. That said, there is an emotional toll that takes much longer to recover from. I don’t think you fully recover from certain events, but learn to move on and process it over time. As I look back 10 years ago, I wonder if we have done enough for the children who were age six to 16 at the time of the flood. What many of our youngest citizens witnessed during and after the flood had to be difficult to process and will likely have an effect.”
“The community has recovered from the flood, but there are scars that remain. Everyone views the scars differently,” adds Hinz. “I can’t help but look at what happened and be in awe of it all.”
“We’ve come a long way,” says Humble. “We’re doing okay as a community, but we all need to be more understanding with everybody – we are all in this life together,” says Humble. “Help your neighbor, smile, and open doors… even if that person doesn’t say thank you; random acts of kindness without looking for anything in return.”
“Thank you to all who came to our aid,” affirms Hoiness.
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