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Deep flood waters take over Waverly UNDERWATER - The flood waters reached further than anyone had expected. Photo courtesy of Jeff Oregan by Sarah Alderfer Features Editor On the night of Wednesday, July 21, 1999, the city of Waverly evacuated most of its population for the first time because of intense flooding. Nearly 2000 people left their homes to seek shelter at nearby hotels, churches, and even the Wartburg campus. Most residents were to stay away from their homes for 48 hours. Some, like Wartburg’s Dr. Jeff Stein, were unable to return home until as late as Sunday morning. Sandbagging efforts began as early as Tuesday afternoon and continued through Wednesday evening, when the evacuation started. Stein had been sandbagging his house since 9:30 a.m. Wednesday when the evacuation notice came out. One Wartburg College student, Ben Hertenstein, here for summer school, said he helped sandbag Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. Hertenstein also helped residents move their washers, dryers and other furniture out of their basements. Throughout the entire flood experience, local businesses reached out to the community. Ann Anderson, the manager of the Waverly Pizza Hut, donated pizzas to the city of Waverly, the Red Cross and to the local sandbaggers. Business suffered as a result of the flood. Anderson said right before the flood, Pizza Hut’s phones were extremely busy with delivery requests because no one wanted to leave the house. Pizza Hut was closed on Wednesday at 7 p.m. and did not reopen until Friday morning. During the flood the city “basically shut down,” said Hertenstein. "The whole experience was astonishing," he said, "realizing that the Dairy Queen and Burger King and everything else was underwater. It was breathtaking." Waverly resident Aaron Moehlies said it took him nearly 45 minutes, going through nearby Denver, to get from one side of town to the other while the bridge was closed. Stein said it was refreshing to see everyone working together during this experience. People who weren’t affected by the floods came out and volunteered to sandbag and offered food and drink to those who needed it. "What separates Waverly [from other towns] is people will pull up and say ‘I don’t know you, but you look like you need help. Can I help you?’" Stein said. Stein had five feet of water in his basement when he and his wife returned home. They were lucky, he said. Some of his neighbors had river water up through their first floors. Repair efforts still continue throughout Waverly. The bowling alley was shut down and renovation efforts on the movie theater were pushed back. Stein said it will be months before everything is returned to the way it was before the flood. According to Stein, the city council has voted to rip out the culverts put in by the “Green Bridge” in town. It was thought that these culverts caused the flood damage to be worse than the flood Waverly experienced in 1993.