CHELSEA, Iowa -- Heavy rains fell, floodwaters climbed and once again, the residents of Chelsea remained.
Massive flooding within the Iowa River Valley this week conjured flashbacks of a similar washout in 2008 and the devastating flood of 1993, which left Chelsea underwater for about 30 days and wiped out more than 40 houses, according to city officials.
The 1993 tragedy prompted an unsuccessful effort to relocate the entire town to higher ground. The proposal attracted national media attention and forged an iron will in the 250-some residents that city officials say seemed to seal any discussion about budging the community.
"People have been living in this low-lying area for over 150 years and they are a hearty people," Rep. Bruce Braley, D-Iowa, said Friday morning, after taking a boat tour through the flooded streets of Chelsea.
Officials said Friday's flooding appeared to be as bad as both floods over the past 20 years, and they expected water levels to rise a bit higher.
Emergency crews and volunteers used boats to rescue several families from their homes earlier this week. By Friday, those same emergency crews transported employees to and from their jobs in downtown Chelsea.
Floodwaters,exceeding 3 feet in many places, did not shut down community establishments such as the Silver Dollar Bar and Grill, Chelsea Savings Bank and the U.S. Post Office.
"It's just another flood for us," Delfina Ordaz said Friday, shortly after wading through thigh-high water with her infant to return to her elevated home.
The 21-year-old said she evacuated the town for three days because the electricity went out, not because water surrounded her home, covering the foundation and rising within a few inches of the exterior door frame.
"There's no water in here or anything," Ordaz said with a laugh inside her home.
Running water and functioning electricity and Internet activity also meant Chelsea Savings Bank was open for business Friday. Only the drive-thru service window was closed because the building was surrounded by sandbags holding back the water.
"Floodwater doesn't keep us down. We just keep working," said Julie Fisher, who was a little late for work at the bank Friday because she had to wait for a boat.
Bank employeeMarilyn Hrabak said residents have learned to embrace flooding as a way of life. When the water rises, it seems to trigger a spirit of community that makes the place special, she said. That same spirit and experience got the residents through the week without any serious injuries or deaths.
"It's survival, and why not be happy every day," said Hrabak, who moved to Chelsea 44 years ago. "We've been here a long time and we plan to be here a lot longer. … This is home."
Hrabak first lived in downtown Chelsea. But after the flood of 1993, she was one of the few residents who took up the city's offer of free lots.
Chelsea's recently retired mayor of 16 years, Roger Ochs, said the city bought six acres for an elevated development with more than 10 lots in the mid-1990s. The idea was to offer residents free property if they paid to move their houses up the hill.
The program failed to take off.
"We wanted to move 12 houses up there. But we couldn't get cooperation," Ochs said. "We moved two houses from down below."
Today the development has six houses: Two that residents moved, three built by private owners and one built and sold by the city. That means about half a dozen lots remain, and the same offer stands, said current Chelsea Mayor Leif Morris.
Morris estimates that 80 percent of the residents in Chelsea temporarily evacuated at some point this week. Total damage is yet to be assessed as many homes remain submerged in several feet of water.
Morris said he expects the city and residents will become eligible for aid money through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which officials said became tedious and drawn out in the previous two major floods. Braley said Friday he hopes to improve that process this time around for the residents.
"We want to be your ally and make sure you get what you deserve," Braley told Morris and emergency volunteers.
Between 1993 and 2008, about $1.6 million in local, state and federal money was provided to Chelsea and its residents. Most of the money went toward the acquisition of 47 houses and the relocation of two others.
Receiving FEMA aid for the latest flood will be crucial for residents without flood insurance, which Morris said likely accounts for the majority of the town's residents..