City officials were prepared to respond to disaster after learning from the 2018 tornado.

When the derecho came full force into town on Aug. 10, 2020, it was a matter of jumping to action.

“We were freshly versed in how to handle these things and who to call,” said Justin Nickel, public works director. “Unfortunately the events from the tornado in 2018 had presented opportunities for us to perform these functions.”

It has not been easy but Marshalltown has recovered and rebuilt significantly since being struck with intense, sustained winds. Gusts as high as 99 mph were recorded during the storm which left behind heavy damage from trees and debris.

According to Parks and Recreation Director Geoff Hubbard, Riverview Park lost about 450 trees alone.

When the storm hit, Hubbard was in his office without a view of any trees. He received a call from Recreation Supervisor Jenni Hart, who was at the community building with Summer Blast.

“She was saying, ‘You’re going to need to get the guys down here with some equipment because parents can’t get here to pick up their kids,'” Hubbard said. “I couldn’t even get there myself.”

Trees blocked streets all over town, looking like an insurmountable task would lie ahead. In the eight weeks that followed a great deal of downed trees were removed. Still debris remained, piling up on corners across town to be picked up. Next Hubbard was looking at about 2,000 stumps left behind in parks and terraces for removal.

The task of replacing the lost trees is already underway. More than 100 new trees were planted in the spring. Hubbard said the city will work with Trees Forever to add another 40 to 50 trees annually, likely during the next 10 years.

Nickel said the tree and debris cleanup is finished aside from chipping and disposing of it all, which is a tall task by itself.

City Administrator Jessica Kinser said the latest tally on FEMA claims relating to debris removal and reimbursement is about $10 million submitted so far. The insurance claim for damaged city properties is about $1.5 million.

If the city’s FEMA claim is accepted it would be reimbursed up to 75 percent of the tree and debris cleanup expenses. The state reimburses 10 percent of the expense and the city is responsible for the remaining 15 percent.

Removing the debris has taken a heavy toll on city streets. Nickel said it is difficult to quantify the effect of cleanup on street conditions but the impact is real.

“The impact of the 2018 tornado and the derecho in 2020 have certainly cut into the capacity of any of our public works crews to get everything completed on our list,” he said. “We’re still playing catch up stretching as far back as 2018.”

Homes and businesses alike took on roof damage, broken windows and ripped off siding. During the initial assessment of the damage throughout the town, 2,904 commercial and residential properties were found with damage visible from the street. Michelle Spohnheimer, housing and community development director, said the true number is likely much higher.

“There’s a lot of work definitely still happening,” she said. “We issued 145 permits related to storm damage and we added new valuation from the construction permits. We added close to $32 million in new valuation.”

Spohnheimer notes much of the rebuilding has not required city approval so there is not a need for a permit on all of it.

“You can safely say there’s hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars in additional work that didn’t require city involvement,” she said.

On the city’s part, the demolition of heavily damaged city owned property is a job which still needs to be completed. Kinser said 102 W. Main St. is among the properties the city is prioritizing for demolition.

“That’s one damaged by the derecho where the roof was ripped off and laying on a car,” Kinser said. “That’s a corner we’re hopeful to get approval for; knowing they had structural damage at risk of imminent collapse and danger. Those are a priority for FEMA.”

Kinser described responding to derecho damage as a weird feeling.

“We just had our third anniversary from the tornado and it was a very different disaster,” she said. “With the derecho it was putting those skills to use. It wasn’t panic and stress. We didn’t know how prepared we were until it actually happened.”

Spohnheimer said the effort from the community to build back after the storm was crucial to the progress made to this point.

“We have some amazing people in our community both in the public and private sector,” she said. “It’s a testament to the collaborative effort and teamwork we have as a community.”