FERP

FERP: What is it? Is it good? Did it work?

What is it?

The Flood Emergency Response Plan (FERP) is the University of Iowa’s first flood plan. It was put in place in 2007 because officials feared another 100 year flood (like the one in 1993). Hurricane Katrina served as a reminder of what strong water could do to an area so the plan made logical sense. The university felt that it needed to make sure that its students and interests were protected. They wanted to keep the cost of future floods down as much as possible.

Is it good?

The plan is a step in the right direction, but it only took 100 year floods into account. What if the flood was stronger? This made officials very important because they would have to adapt with what was happening. If a 500 year flood hit the variables would change drastically making fast response important.

Did it work?

It worked to an extent. The officials organizing the flood efforts knew what they were doing, but once June 12, 2008 hit everything that they planned had to be thrown away because the flooding exceeded all prepared plans. The sandbagging that had been done was not enough so lessening the damage of the water was the only thing that could be done. Volunteers were used to preserve things like books and art. The University knew that damages would be high.

Personal view:

FERP is a step in the right directions, but officials need to understand that floods are hard to predict. The corps changed the projected peak of the 2008 flood many times. This means that preparations need to vary greatly because we never know many resources we will need.