Survivor of Floods of '93 Says Disaster Was Blessing in Disguise for Valley Junction

Sign up for West Des Moines Patch's free newsletter | Like us on Facebook| Follow us on Twitter

Twenty years ago this month Valley Junction was swamped by the raging Raccoon River and West Des Moines battled to keep its water plant from being submerged by floodwaters battering weakened levees.

But one lifelong resident of Valley Junction says the floods of 1993 -- gauged as a disaster that should happen once every 500 years by weather experts -- and the recovery work following them allowed the original neighborhoods and business district of West Des Moines to come back from the ruins a stronger community.

Barbra Jean Long, 81, has lived in Valley Junction her entire life and said the flood was a blessing in disguise.

“The flood made me feel good about where I was at,” Long said. “At first I wanted to just run and leave everything, but it brought people together.”

Long remembers the exact moment when she saw the floodwaters.

“I was scared to death,” Long said. “I had one daughter that lived on 34th and Maple and we headed back, we were on Locust, which was on top of the hill and it was just like one big river. You could see the tops of houses and I can’t even explain how it was like trying to find my house.”

Long said she found her house after she saw some of her neighbor’s childrens’ toys floating.

“I was crying,” Long said. “My daughter says ‘Momma stop crying.’ And I said, ‘I don’t want to look’ and she says, ‘momma you have to.’ And I said, ‘I don’t want to see my house under water,’ then I said, ‘my goodness.’"

"It was kind of chilling to think what was in the house and what was in the water. It did not hit up stairs, but it looked like the whole house was gone. There was a lot of stuff in the basement that was gone.”

Bobbie Bishop with the Red Cross office in Des Moines helped volunteer during the flood in Valley Junction. Bishop said floods are more than just water.

“It’s river bottom, it’s oil, it’s sewage, it’s everything,” Bishop said. “It is contaminated with horrible stuff. A lot of times when people think of floods they think, ‘It's just water, what’s the big deal?’ It isn’t just water, it will destroy your home.”

In the aftermath of the flooding, millions of dollars in state and federal aid poured into the area to rebuild homes, businesses and sewer systems, and improve flood protection levees and install floodgates.

Long today lives in the same split-level house she lived in during the floods 20 year ago. Only her basement was damaged, so once that was repaired, she moved back in.

“It was an inspiration that nobody left,” Long said. “As a matter of fact, people got busy and started rebuilding.”

Long said it made the neighborhood association stronger and it is still as strong today as it was then.

“It turned out to be real good,” Long said. “That flood took a lot out of us and a lot in us, also.”

Long said the neighborhood was going to be redone before the flood occurred. 

“After the flood the houses got rejuvenated and new houses were built on every one of the blocks,” Long said. “During the flood, the National Guard was on all entrances keeping people out, it was like World War Three. It was terrible, but people banded together and fought it out, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.”