Across the University of Iowa’s 175-year history, the campus community has experienced a wide-range of disasters including tornadoes, flooding, and fires.
The most impactful events include the 2008 flood and fires at South Hall, the old library building, and the Old Capitol Building.
The 2008 flood inflicted $750 million in damage to 22 campus buildings including the old Hancher Auditorium building, which was destroyed in 2013, and the Art Building, which has since been decommissioned. Mary Bennett, historian and archivist at the State Historical Society of Iowa, has lived through the three most recent disasters in her 50 years in Iowa City. Bennett graduated from the university in the 1970s.
Bennett said she remembers the wide-ranging destruction caused by the 2008 flood and that generally, it was difficult to get around town with Dubuque Street and the Park Road Bridge submerged.
“I think that the whole community was so impacted,” Bennett said.