(AP) -- DES MOINES, Iowa - The director of the Rebuild Iowa Office says a lot of work has been done since last summer's tornadoes and flooding, but it will take years to recover.
Maj. Gen. Ron Dardis says the idea that Iowa can be fixed in 12 months isn't realistic. He says major problems remain as Iowa marks the first anniversary of the disasters that hit 86 counties and caused nearly $10 billion in damage.
Dardis says recovering from the floods of 1993 took seven to eight years. He says recovering from the disasters of 2008 involve three to four times as much damage and will take as long or longer.
The Rebuild Iowa Office is coordinating the state's disaster recovery.
Dardis will retire this month as the adjutant general of the Iowa National Guard.
(Copyright ©2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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