Storm damage in Cedar Rapids. Photo courtesy of Cat Nelson.

A Washington County mom has been busy the last 10 days making daily trips to Cedar Rapids to help in derecho recovery. Jessica Canny shares her involvement started by helping her brother and his family, “He just asked me to bring him ice last Thursday because it was something that they needed, and when I saw firsthand just the complete devastation of the city. I just, it’s indescribable, I can’t. you know I have pictures and whole buildings are gone. Every single city block was just completely devastated. And just the fact that there’s not a lot of reporting, or there wasn’t at time going on about it and not a lot of people knew about it. So, it started with me taking him ice. And when I got home that night, I went onto Facebook and I searched on the Facebook thing, ‘Help Cedar Rapids.’” She said through her Facebook search she was able to connect with people who needed help.

Canny has seen an increase in people helping in Cedar Rapids recently, but says there’s still a big need for supplies. Canny plans to take more donated items to Cedar Rapids and encourages people to help others, “There are still so many people that need help and so much more that could be done.”

As of Thursday, Alliant Energy still had over 15,000 residents without power in the Cedar Rapids area. United Way of East Central Iowa is collaborating with community organizations to provide relief in areas affected by the derecho storm damage. Find information about their recovery efforts and learn more about ways to help – click here.