Winneshiek County Health Department is learning some lessons from the response to this year's derecho in Cedar Rapids

(Photo courtesy of Iowa Derecho Storm Resource Page)

One of the responsibilities of every government agency is emergency preparedness.  So many local government programs in Iowa are studying the impact of this summer's derecho on Cedar Rapids and other parts of Iowa and trying to learn some lessons.

Winneshiek County Public Health Director Krista Vanden Brink says the organizations which responded to the derecho found themselves in unusual situations.  For instance, the Linn County Public Health building was damaged by the storm.  Linn County also had employees who lost electricity at home—but still had to go to work to handle all the problems the rest of the community was having.

Another local government official says an important lesson to take away from the derecho is that organizations should always have multiple options for communicating with one another—because there's no guarantee that a storm hasn't wiped out phone service or cell phone towers.