Cedar Rapids Videos Taken During Derecho Show Heroism, a City Changed Forever [WATCH]

I think for most Iowans that were unlucky enough to experience the derecho on Monday, August 10 firsthand, one word comes to the tip of our tongues. Hurricane. A number of incredible videos from that day have surfaced.

Thankfully, most of us were inside sturdy buildings when the storm ripped through the middle of the state as it made its eastward march that day. Many, including police officers, couldn't be. They were out there doing what they always do, protecting and serving. Below are two different dashcams from Cedar Rapids police cars as the storm impacted the city.

The first shows an officer rescuing a woman from a car that had a large tree fall on the back of it near 20th Street and 1st Avenue East. You can even hear her call her sister and assure her that she's ok:

The next video comes from Williams Boulevard Southwest beginning at around 16th Avenue. As you'll see, the officer's visibility is nearly nonexistent as they navigate streets already filled with debris before finally reaching a point that's impassable:

A camera on the 12th Avenue bridge shows how quickly the storm struck:

Finally, a video from a camera on a Cedar Rapids home. The video has been viewed nearly 1.4 million times on YouTube. It shows how ferocious the gusts were, and the damage they left in their wake:

The City of Cedar Rapids didn't lose their sense of humor after the storm, posting this on Saturday, August 22:

For me, one 'hurricane' was enough. As always, I'm proud to be from Cedar Rapids where the entire metro is lending assistance to one another as we recover from the storm of the century.