Survey: Flooding aftermath affects Iowa businesses

AMES, Iowa—Hundreds of Iowa companies lost workers, revenue and continue to face challenges to recovery in the aftermath of recent flooding, according to a new survey data from Iowa State University.

A survey of more than 800 companies shows that 53 percent of the businesses reported back that they had been affected by the floods. The ongoing survey is being conducted by the Iowa State University Extension's Center for Industrial Research and Service.

Some companies lost workers who had to respond to personal flood-related issues. Others saw a disruption in production because of structural damage or a disconnection of utilities.

CIRAS is conducting the survey to identify areas where relief funding will have the greatest impact on industry as it attempts to return to normal production, said director Ron Cox.

"Based on the data we have received to date, it's reasonable to expect that a company of 50 employees would have over a million dollars of damage and lost sales," Cox said.

Compiling accurate data is crucial because millions of dollars of relief funding is being made available from multiple sources, Cox said.

If the early survey data is any indication, the need is widespread.

Sixty percent of the companies reported disruptions to their work force, said Rudy Pruszko, CIRAS project manager. Companies also are dealing with supply interruptions, flood-affected customers, backed up sewer drains, and other issues that prevent them from operating normally.

"Most of the comments we are getting relate to lost labor hours from employees who could not get to work or who had lost their own homes," Pruszko said. "Some smaller companies had to shut down entirely because of a shortage of workers. And lost production time for some will mean future overtime which is an additional expense."

Some companies have managed to get back up and running and are working on the backlog of orders, Pruszko said.

But others aren't sure how long they'll remain shut down as they wait for floodwaters to recede so they can clean up the aftermath -- or decide whether to reopen at all.

CIRAS plans to interview nearly 1,300 Iowa companies with five to 500 employees. Companies surveyed so far include those that manufacture fabricated metal products, nonmetallic mineral products, machinery or wood products, as well as food processing companies and those involved in printing and support activities.