News : Recovery continues for third day

A damaged apartment building.

Uprooted trees are also damaging underground phone lines.

Yet another car smashed by falling tree.

Workers chip trees near the courthouse.

This garage was lifted off its foundation.

Scores of houses were damaged in Monday's storm.

The man inside this house escaped without injury despite the major damage.

IBSSS clean-up continues...

Debris is sorted for removal at IBSSS campus.

This van was another casualty of the storm.

The remains of a camper destroyed by a large falling tree.

Branches still cover this damaged vehicle.

The 4th Ave. railroad underpass.

Wednesday morning saw storm recovery continue, both with the obvious damage and challenges and some not-so-obvious issues and problems.

While linemen continued dealing with the damage to utility poles and wires overhead, a Qwest technician was dealing with an unseen problem: Some uprooted trees also uprooted phone cables. One large cable was uprooted in the area near Kiwanis Park, and the technician was trying to find the other end of the cable so he could repair it.

At the Iowa Braille School, security guards kept unauthorized people from entering the driveway, while a University of Iowa police vehicle was parked in plain sight in an attempt to discourage trespassers or those who may be tempted to steal the copper or other materials from the damaged roof.

Throughout town, residents began a third day of cleaning up and trying to restore their property and utilities to normal. The Benton County EMA office reminds residents that the repair of the meter and the mast is the property owners’ responsibility. Also, because of heavy demand, those who need electrical service should consider calling qualified electricians from other cities, said EMA Director Scott Hansen. The home owners must repair any damaged meters and masts before city crews will restore service.

While most city streets are now passable, at least for one vehicle at a time, a few are still totally closed because of fallen trees or utility poles.