Rock Valley family has moved 5 times in 6 months since June flood destroyed their home

SIOUX CITY (KTIV) – Over the past six months, the Hoffman family has had to move to five different locations after their Rock Valley home was red-tagged following the flood.

The Hoffman family moved to Rock Valley in 2021 and moved the day the water started rising on Main Street in June 2024.

Walking through the house in December 2024, we found ourselves with a frozen-in-time birthday party in the kitchen.

“There were still balloons floating around the house,” Donald Hoffman said.

The backyard pool had been washed away and was now in its final resting place in a neighbor’s yard. The trampoline also moved to another neighbor’s yard.

The foundations also moved, as did the rest of the block. Every house on this street suffered serious damage, forcing its owners to abandon it, living elsewhere for the past six months.

Hoffman explained what it was like to leave his house on the day of the flood: “I watched a log the size of a car float down Main Street and bounce off one of the light poles. I could see that my car left behind had been picked up and pushed into my garage door. My basement was completely filled with water. The south wall of my garage was completely torn away from the house and is gone.

It’s a harsh reality to face for the Hoffman family of four.

The water was three feet high on the walls of the family’s Main Street home.

“All my furniture and everything I had tried to save, the washer and dryer, everything was gone,” Donald said.

Over the past six months, the Hoffmans have lived in five different places.

Donald said that on the first night they were offered shelter at a nearby church: “We were moved to Trinity Church on the hill. We were placed in a room in the basement, without electricity or water.

Later that week, they moved in with their family, putting six people in a two-bedroom apartment.

“But still no water. We had to use the church bathroom,” Donald added.

In August, they moved into the RVs that Iowa State had brought, then into a hotel when it got colder.

“We took this option with them to live there. Then FEMA, they came with the FEMA trailers, the mobile homes that we are here now,” Donald said.

In mid-October, when it got colder, the Hoffman family moved into a hotel covered by the state of Iowa.

“When we moved into the hotel, the hot water was a godsend,” said Kayla Hoffman, Donald’s wife.

Last weekend, the Hoffman family moved into their final home, a FEMA trailer.

“We haven’t had an oven since the flood,” Kayla added.

Now they’ve eaten three home-cooked meals, something to be thankful for this holiday season.

The Hoffmans’ daughters were delighted to show us their room: “And that’s my bed up there.” »

This move into the FEMA trailer includes their six dogs and three cats, all rescued from the flood.

Donald explained what it was like to leave his house with the water rushing in: “I lifted my cage with my six little dogs and put it on the pool float. And then I pushed open my garage door and found the sidewalk outside. By then the water was up to my shoulder. About halfway through my journey to higher ground, Main Street plunges. I was pulled underwater, so I was drifting with my float towards the trees in the neighbor’s yard. I was able to use my feet and grip the ground. And avoid hitting trees.

He went to the dry end of the street to meet law enforcement, where the water meets the sidewalk. He said they were shocked when they saw him with the float and the dogs.

“I was just trying to pray that I could make it.” I had enough strength to hold on to that floating pool with my dogs on it to get out,” he said. “I had the clothes on my back and I didn’t have any shoes because I lost them in the flood. »

That evening, Donald’s wife was called to help evacuate the nursing home, and he went with her to help.

“So I did that barefoot with her while evacuating the nursing home. We did this until around 9 a.m.,” he added.

Two weeks after the flood, their home was searched and items stolen, such as the lawn mower and other tools left on their property.

The question of what’s next is still looming, with a move date in FEMA’s trailer for December 26, 2025.

“I still don’t feel at home. I mean, people say, “It’s such a big place and all that, but in my mind, it’s a place where I can rest at night knowing that it’s not mine,” added Donald.

The Hoffmans will stay here as long as they can until it’s time to move on to the next location.

Kayla added: “It’s a step up from hotel rooms.”

Donald added: “It may not be a house, but it’s a place to go for now. »

Many families are concerned that the Hoffman share is about how much money they will get during the FEMA Hazard Mitigation Buyout Plan and whether that will be enough to purchase a home to stay in Rock Valley.

“We’re in Tier 2 right next to Tier 1. So that’s the way we look at it and they don’t even know if they’re going to be able to buy all of Tier 2,” Donald said. “But I look at how close I am to the first level, I feel pretty safe.”

RELATED: More than 100 Rock Valley Homes Eligible for FEMA Hazard Mitigation Buyout Plan

The Hoffmans are waiting to hear back from the city for an assessment of their property, then see the next steps in the buyout program.

This is if the city buys their property so they can move out and try to buy a new house of their own.

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