With the frequency and magnitude of most natural disasters in recent times and you will agree with me that nature seems to be angry with the way and manner we abuse the environment. Some will say and it is a sign of the end times. It is disheartening to see the millions of people affected by natural disasters like the Myanmar Cyclone Nargis, Hurricane Katrina and China Earthquake and most recently the Iowa flood.

The Iowa floods that ravaged the city in June 2008 left hundreds of families homeless, businesses closed and the rest of the city strained by an infrastructure in shambles. As soon as the waters died down and there will be many questions that need to be asked: Why did the Army Corps and USGS not accurately predict the inflow of water into the reservoir? Why did the city not give homeowners the time they needed to save their belongings? Where was the foresight after a record snowfall to empty the reservoir at an earlier date? These questions are being asked and but where are the answers?

In Cedar Rapids and after the Cedar River retreated many residents had the chance to get their first look inside their flood-ruined homes. The city had set up a handful of checkpoints leading into the flooded neighborhoods. At one ON First Avenue, near one of the most severely damaged sections of town and residents waited for a National Guard escort to their homes where the water had fully retreated. They could check out the damage but could only take out what they could carry ON foot.

Some of the people that came back were in tears. Dan Bowers was one of those waiting in a line stretching back half a block or so. He said when he evacuated ON Wednesday night and he had no idea the flood would be so bad. I moved everything from the basement to the first floor, he said. My house had never been flooded before and so I thought that would save everything.

But then he saw video ON television of a boat going through deep water in his neighborhood. He thought he has Lost everything. All my furniture, all my pictures, personal belongings, clothes and appliances, he said. Replacing those things, plus repairing flood damage or rebuilding, if necessary and won't be easy for Bowers. Most of the damage is done in non-flood plain areas where there is no insurance, he said. I know I did not have flood insurance.

There are likely thousands of others in the same situation in Cedar Rapids and promising to make the process of rebuilding the city much more difficult. Bowers, a lifelong resident and says it will probably be years before his city returns to normal.

Disaster like the Iowa flood will continue to happen. They are what we call acts of nature. The question we should ask ourselves now is How prepared are we when the next disaster comes?

My thoughts and prayer go out to all the families affected by the Iowa flood.

Now is the time to consider taking your homeowners insurance or flood insurance or both. Most quotes are free and online. Do not delay. Act today.