Ongoing Rescue Efforts in Iowa

Floodwaters are now receding.

The Rapid Response team went out yesterday to take action on multiple requests for assistance. While one cat was captured, many more were sighted in the town area.

The floods have significantly receded in the past 36 hours and therefore half the town is no longer submerged. The remaining half is still under approximately three feet of water. While this is good news for the residents, it has made rescue efforts far more difficult. In many areas they are no longer able to utilize the motors on the boats and instead are forced to paddle; however, the current still remains strong.

Many cats are being seen in the town’s dry spots, so the team is continuing to distribute food and water in those areas.

FEMA was scheduled to do an evaluation of Oakville today and Richard Crook has been in contact with fellow rescue organizations; International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) who is concentrating on the pigs and Kinship Circle who is focusing on companion animals. The Best Friends Rapid Response team is working closely with both groups to determine their plan of action and best utilize their resources to cover the greatest geographic area. In fact, Kinship Circle will be working under the direction of Best Friends.

The team has no plans to leave the area until their work is complete, something for which the local officials are extremely grateful.

For more details, see the Day 6 entry from Ethan Gurney from Notes from the Field Blog, which chronicles the ongoing rescue effort from the front lines.

TWO WAYS YOU CAN HELP:

1. Help fund Best Friends’ effort to save companion animals trapped by the Iowa floodwaters with an online donation to the Best Friends Rescue Fund or phone in a contribution to 435-644-2001 ext. 4801.

2. Interested in helping? We have no call-out for deployment at this time; however, we are establishing a “ready” list.

Before we are able to send volunteers in to the field, they must complete some specific coursework, which is available through the FEMA website. At this time, only volunteers with proof that they hold the following FEMA courses will be placed on the “ready” list.

The first four are REQUIRED. The last one is PREFERRED.

- FEMA ICS 100 Introduction to the Incident Command System (ICS)
- FEMA ICS 200 ICS for Single Resources and Initial Action Incidents
- FEMA IS 700 National Incident Management System (NIMS): Introduction
- FEMA IS 800.B National Response Framework: An Introduction
- FEMA IS 10 Animals in a Disaster, Module A: Awareness and Preparedness

After you’ve taken the courses, please contact Ellen Gilmore at elleng@bestfriends.org to find out more about joining the Best Friends Rapid Response team.

For more information:
• Iowa Floods Special Feature
• Best Friends Animal Society Rapid Response Community
• United Animal Nations
• List of Iowa facilities offering animal sheltering services for those affected by the flood
• Kirkwood Community College, located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has set up a temporary animal shelter for animals displaced by the floods.
• Those who have left pets behind are asked to contact Animal Help at Best Friends by calling 435-644-2001 ext. 4789 or by e-mail, animalhelp@bestfriends.org, please be sure to include “Midwest Floods” in the subject line. Animals not immediately claimed will be cared for by the Mediapolis Veterinary Clinic

Special Note from Ellen Gilmore, Best Friends Volunteer Project Coordinator: The Iowa EOC has asked for Best Friends’ assistance, and we are doing swift water search and rescue only. At this time, Best Friends is not directly involved with sheltering or caring for the animals in Iowa or deploying volunteers.

Although you may have noticed that other groups are requesting volunteers, Rich advises these are considered convergent volunteers (no certifications required) for the day-to-day efforts, and that our team is being kept on hold for more technical and tactical work, if needed.

Some of these groups may host communities on the Best Friends Network where content is posted freely by web site members and may or may not reflect the opinions, goals, or mission of Best Friends Animal Society.

Posted by Jennifer Hayes, Best Friends Staff
Photo credit: taken by Molly Wald