Communities plan flood recovery

0 Comments | USA TODAY, June, 2008 | by Oren Dorell, Gwen Purdom and Andrew Seaman

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- The flooding that has muddied or destroyed parts of the Midwest is still making its trek downriver, but communities have begun figuring out how to dig out and rebuild.

Recovery will mean different things in different places.

Coming back will be a struggle for Lake Delton, Wis., business owners who rely on tourist dollars because flooding destroyed the levee and let the lake drain out. University of Iowa officials must repair or rebuild as many as 20 buildings. In Cedar Rapids, whole neighborhoods may be relocated.

Costs are being calculated -- the National Climatic Data Center made a preliminary estimate of $2 billion that was sure to go higher -- and dozens of affected communities and farms along the swollen rivers are bracing...