WATERLOO - Fifteen months after the flood of 2008, the state still is in recovery mode.

On Wednesday, the Rebuild Iowa Office hosted a forum based in Des Moines with remote sites set up in Vinton, Elkader, Iowa City and Waterloo to help spread information about what has been done and what assistance still is available.

At East High School in Waterloo, where the presentation was given over the Iowa Communications Network, only a handful of people showed up, and only one of those was not there in an official capacity.

The flood, coupled with tornadoes, amounted to the largest disaster in Iowa history and the fifth largest nationally. In its wake came a bewildering array of relief programs from federal, state and local governments, as well as nonprofit agencies. While most of the victims have been served and are on their way to recovery, some still need help and some programs still are available.

The forum was designed to get information out about those programs and included presentations on housing assistance, flood insurance, mental health help and green rebuilding advice, among other topics.

One such program with money still available is a fund set up to reimburse victims for unmet needs that slipped through the cracks of other assistance programs. The Iowa Legislature appropriated $10 million for the program and so far has made 3,300 awards for a total of $4.5 million.

The unmet needs program allows individuals to receive a grant of up to $2,500 for expenses such as home repair, replacing personal property, food assistance, child care, temporary housing and mental health assistance. The program is limited to those with a household income of three times the federal poverty level or less. For a family of four, that level is $66,150.

Applications for that assistance are available through local long-term recovery offices.

Diana Kidder of the Federal Emergency Management Agency said those interested in getting flood insurance should act now.

"I'm out promoting the sale of flood insurance with agents because now is the time to buy. Rates will go up Oct. 1," Kidder said. She said rates will rise 8 percent next month.

In summarizing the state of recovery efforts, Rebuild Iowa executive director Lt. Gen. Ron Dardis said it's a lengthy process.

"Looking back we can see we've come a long way, but looking forward we can see there is still a long path ahead," Dardis said.