The Cedar River poured over its banks last month, flooding much of downtown Cedar Rapids, Iowa, including the basement and first floor of the courthouse for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa. The nearby bankruptcy court also was forced to evacuate its building due to flood waters. .

On Monday, June 23, 2008, Chief Judge Linda Reade in the Northern District of Iowa gave members of the bar tours of her new court facility, a one-story brick building in an industrial park several miles south of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Around her, painters were still painting, electricians were still wiring, and court staff were working on folding tables. But the court was fully operational. In fact, Magistrate Judge Jon Scoles already had held a hearing.

“I think that a lot of people in our community are suffering,” Reade said. “I think that the fact that we’re up and running will be a cause for optimism in the community.”

Just two weeks earlier the district court had evacuated its riverside courthouse as the Cedar River topped its levees and flooded 9.2 square miles of the city.

On Monday, June 9, 2008, the National Weather Service had predicted the Cedar River would crest at 21 feet, higher than during the devastating 1993 floods. On Tuesday, June 10, the prediction went to 24 feet. With more rain on the way, and a predicted crest Wednesday at 28 feet, “We implemented our Continuity of Operations Plan and told our staff to stay home,” said Clerk of Court Robert Phelps. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Iowa, located just a few blocks away, also implemented its COOP.

The district court’s website and its Case Management/Electronic Case Files system were transferred to a national server, and the court’s own CM/ECF server was sent to the Sioux City courthouse location for safety.

Websites for both the district and the bankruptcy courts announced the temporary closure of their respective courts, while reassuring attorneys that, “Throughout this COOP response/period of closure, the court’s electronic CM/ECF will remain available for electronic filing and research.”

As soon as the flood waters receded, computers and usable equipment were retrieved from the upper floors of the district courthouse.

By Thursday morning, June 12, the courthouse was an island in a river. The Cedar River eventually crested Friday, June 13 at 31 feet, well beyond the 500-year floodplain. All court facilities in Cedar Rapids suffered significant water damage, with water filling the basement and the first 4’4” of the first floor of the U.S. courthouse.

“On the following Tuesday and Wednesday, with the river down, we were able to enter the courthouse,” Phelps recounts, “and pull usable equipment from the second and third floors.”

The Probation Office on the first floor had been completely flooded.

“The sandbagging we thought would keep us safe was exceeded, so I anticipated severe damage,” said Chief Probation Officer Robert Askelson. “But we saved the computer server, we have everything backed up, and we hope to salvage some of the paper files.”