At least four people have been killed by the devastating Nebraska floods that have cut off access to several towns and ruined 500 homes in one county alone.
Two other men are still missing and presumed dead in Nebraska.
Rainfall and swollen rivers, left in the wake of the 'bomb cyclone' winter storm swirling through the US, has left Nebraska inundated with water, neighborhoods completely submerged, and bridges ripped apart.
Governor Pete Ricketts declared a state of emergency in 53 counties, saying that one-third of the state has been affected in the devastating floods and 2,600 locals living near rivers were urged to evacuate on Friday.
'This is the largest widespread amount of flooding we've had in the last half century,' Ricketts said on the deluge.
Some small towns and communities have been cut off by floods while others have seen fresh drinking water become scarce.
The flooding, which is the worst the state has seen in 50 years, has badly damaged up to 500 houses in Sarpy County.
Greg London of the Sarpy County Sheriff's Office said Sunday that one levee broke Thursday along the Platte River, and another broke Saturday.
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At least three people have been killed by the devastating Nebraska floods that have cut off access to several towns and ruined 500 homes in one county alone. Two other men are still missing and presumed dead in Nebraska
Rainfall and swollen rivers, left in the wake of the 'bomb cyclone' winter storm swirling through the US, has left Nebraska inundated with water, neighborhoods completely submerged, and bridges ripped apart. Flooded RVs (pictured) were washed away by the flood waters of the Platte River in in Merritt's RV Park in Plattsmouth, Nebraska
The Missouri River flooded Offutt Air Force Base (pictured), with about one-third of it under water on Sunday. Spokeswoman Tech Sgt Rachelle Blake told the Omaha World-Herald that 60 buildings, mostly on the south end of the base, have been damaged, including about 30 completely inundated with as much as 8 feet of water
A BNSF train sits in flood waters from the Platte River, in Plattsmouth, Nebraska, on Sunday. Flooding has also caused problems for passenger train service between Kansas City, Missouri, and St Louis
Amtrak said Sunday that its Missouri River Runner service between the state's two largest cities was experiencing delays up to five hours because of flooding and rail congestion
London estimates that up to 400 houses and cabins in the area known as Hanson's Lake are damaged, including many that are completely submerged.
Another 100 or so homes are damaged elsewhere in the county.
The area is near where the Platte and Missouri rivers converge. A Missouri River levee nearby also breached on Thursday.
London says many of the damaged homes are likely ruined. He says that while the area has had flooding before, this year's disaster is 'unprecedented'.
Nebraska saw its various rivers break through their banks, cresting at up to 25 feet and rushing into neighborhoods, forcing locals to climb on their roofs and cry for help.
The floodwaters from the Niobrara River in the northern part of the state were so strong they blasted through the 90-year-old Spencer Dam dam on Thursday, drowning the nearby town of Lincoln in water and completely washing out a bridge on US Highway 281.
The Missouri River, which borders Missouri and Nebraska reached 26 feet on Saturday - a foot below what's considered major flooding - but is expected to crest on Wednesday or Thursday at 29.3 feet, according to WPTV.
Crest records were set along the Platte and Elkhorn rivers. The Elkhorn reached 24.6 feet on Saturday in Waterloo, breaking the 1962 record by 5 1/2 feet.
Rescue teams in boats have been pulling trapped residents out of the flood waters since Thursday.
On Saturday two Nebraska National Guard Black Hawk helicopters spent the day placing massive 1,500-pound sandbags to fortify an island on the Platte River that holds the City of Lincoln's wells and water supply.
Helicopters were sent to rescue residents trapped in the fast-rising waters. Locals in Arlington, Nebraska, are seen on their roof waiting for help to arrive as the state grapples with the worst flood in 50 years
Highways were broken when dams burst and rivers swelled in Nebraska this week, thanks to rain and snow fall created in the 'bomb cyclone' winter storm
Waterloo was hardly recognizable as water reached the height of treetops and only the tops of telephone poles were visible
Authorities were forced to close Dodge Street due to flood waters on Saturday in Omaha, Nebraska, after the highway was submerged
Gushing floodwaters broke a bridge near Genoa over the weekend as Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts declared a state of emergency
The swollen Platte River in Nebraska (pictured above along the I-80 bridge near Ashland) was closed on Wednesday and reopened Saturday after the massive floods receded
A farm near Fremont is seen above as the town turned into a virtual island after the Platte and Elkhorn Rivers flooded
Rescue efforts on Saturday were hindered by levee breaches and the washouts of bridges and highway roads. Officials said power may be shut off in communities near the flooding rivers for safety reasons.
Brave farmer 50-year-old James Wilke, of Platte County, lost his life when he tried to join the rescue effort on his tractor, despite the wind and rain, on Thursday.
He died when a bridge collapsed as he was crossing it, according to the Omaha World-Herald.
The bridge collapsed under the weight of the tractor and a frantic search was launched to find his body washed downstream about nine hours later.
'He was always the first to go help somebody,' his cousin Paul Wilke said. 'He was always the first to go help somebody.'
A second Nebraska man 55-year-old Aleido Rojas Galan of Norfolk died at a hospital in Lincoln after he got caught in the rushing waters along the state line with Iowa on Friday evening.
Galan was with two other men in a car when the vehicle got trapped in the floods and they tried to swim to safety.
When rescuers arrived on the scene Galan and another man were 'hanging onto trees', according to the Fremont County Sheriff's Office. Galan later died from his injuries.
An elderly resident also died in rising waters after refusing to leave his home. No further details were immediately available
At least two other people are also missing in the floods in the state. A Norfolk man was last seen on top of his submerged car late Thursday and got swept in the water and wasn't seen again.
Another man got caught in the current when the Spencer Dam collapsed on Thursday.
The Missouri River flooded Offutt Air Force Base, with about one-third of it under water on Sunday.
Brave farmer 50-year-old James Wilke, of Platte County, lost his life when he tried to join the rescue efforts on his tractor and died when a bridge collapsed as he was crossing it on Thursday
Governor Pete Ricketts shared pictures of the damage found in Fremont, Niobrabra and Lynch on his social media including this highway road eaten out by the turbulent waters
An aerial view of damaged buildings after a storm triggered historic flooding, in Valley, Nebraska pictured above, drowning homes and businesses in water
Swamped: Streets turned into rivers and Valley, Nebraska neighborhoods into swamps in the historic flooding
Highway 275 is seen underwater after a storm the worst flooding in 50 years, near Waterloo, Nebraska on Saturday
Spokeswoman Tech Sgt Rachelle Blake told the Omaha World-Herald that 60 buildings, mostly on the south end of the base, have been damaged, including about 30 completely inundated with as much as 8 feet of water.
Military C-130 planes were evacuated last week from nearby Rosecrans Air National Guard base.
Hundreds of people remained out of their homes in Nebraska, where floodwaters reached record levels at 41 locations. Nearly 300 people have been rescued from high water across Nebraska.
Nebraska Public Power District's (NPPD) Cooper nuclear plant in Nebraska was still operating at full power early Monday after the company said on Friday it was preparing for possible flooding, according to a report from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
Officials at NPPD were not immediately available for comment Monday morning.
The company said on Friday that the plant continued to operate safely and 'there is no threat to plant employees or to the public'.
On Friday, NPPD declared an 'unusual event' at Cooper because of the possibility of flooding along the Missouri River following a powerful winter storm last week.
NPPD said its workers have filled sandbags along a river levee and procured other materials and supplies for flood protection.
The biggest danger to a nuclear plant from flooding is the loss of power, which can make it difficult to circulate the water needed to cool the uranium fuel in the reactor core and the fuel stored in the spent-fuel pool.
That caused the fuel in some reactor cores at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in Japan to partially melt down in 2011 after a giant earthquake and tsunami cut power to the plant.
Since Fukushima, all US reactors have been upgraded with additional safety equipment, including portable pumps and generators to keep cooling water circulating through the reactor in case the plant loses offsite power.
NPPD said its procedures require it to declare an unusual event to the NRC when the Missouri River tops 899 feet above sea level. It reached 899.05 feet Friday morning, the company said.
Should the river rise to 900 feet above sea level, NPPD said plant workers will 'barricade internal doorways as another layer of protection for facility equipment'.
If the river reaches 901.5 feet, NPPD said it would take the station offline as a protective measure.
The plant was built at 903 feet above sea level, which is 13 feet above natural grade, NPPD said.
The 770-megawatt Cooper station is three miles southeast of Brownville, Nebraska, near the Missouri River. One megawatt can power about 1,000 US homes.
Residents in parts of southwestern Iowa were forced out of their homes Sunday as a torrent of Missouri River water flowed over and through levees, putting them in a situation similar to hundreds of people in neighboring Nebraska who have been displaced by the late-winter flood.
In Iowa, the Missouri River reached 30.2 feet on Sunday in Fremont County in the state's far southwestern corner, 2 feet above the record set in 2011.
The flooded Platte and Elkhorn Rivers turned the town of Fremont into an island. Fremont was issued a mandatory evacuation for residents by the Dodge County Sheriff's Office.
'We're like an island. You cannot get in or out,' Fremont Councilwoman Linda McClain said to the New York Times.
Destroyed: Buildings and businesses were unrecognizable after they were washed out and battered by the floodwaters
Highway road bridges collapsed and crumbled as they succumbed to the fierce, rushing floodwaters in the state
Businesses, homes and farms, were buried underwater. The Platteview, Nebraska, community (above) was seen drowning under the overflowing Missouri River on Saturday
Statues were submerged in the overflowing Missouri River. Pictured is the Monument to Labor Statue in Omaha on Saturday
Hundreds of homes have flooded in Missouri after the Missouri River overtopped and breached several levees, local officials said Monday.
People in the towns of Bartlett and Thurman were being evacuated as levees were breached and overtopped.
County Emergency Management Director Mike Crecelius said it wasn't just the amount of the water, it was the swiftness of the current that created a danger.
'This wasn't a gradual rise,' Crecelius said. 'It's flowing fast and it's open country - there's nothing there to slow it down.'
Lucinda Parker of Iowa Homeland Security & Emergency Management said nearly 2,000 people have been evacuated at eight Iowa locations since flooding began late last week. Most were staying with friends or family.
Seven shelters set up for flood victims held just a couple dozen people Saturday night.
Flooding was causing problems for passenger train service between Kansas City, Missouri, and St Louis.
Amtrak said Sunday that its Missouri River Runner service between the state's two largest cities was experiencing delays up to five hours because of flooding and rail congestion.
All Missouri River Runner trains were canceled Monday. The service typically travels twice daily between the two metropolitan areas.
Holt County Emergency Management Director Tom Bullock said Monday that many homes are inundated with 6 to 7 feet of water.
Governor Pete Ricketts (left) and Unicameral Speaker Jim Scheer (right) surveyed historic flooding in portions of northeast Nebraska on Saturday
Not only was water a problem, but the cold temperatures led to slush and ice and bitter weather conditions
The Missouri Department of Transportation has reported about 100 flood-related road closures.
The National Weather Service (NWS) says the river should crest Thursday in St Joseph, Missouri, at its third highest level on record.
The rising Mississippi River was also creating concern. The Mississippi was already at major flood level along the Iowa-Illinois border, closing roads and highways and swamping thousands of acres of farmland.
Freeport City Manager Lowell Crow says the town of 25,000 residents west of Rockford could see an all-time record flood along the Pecatonica River. At best, the water level will get to its highest level in 50 years.
Readings from the NWS show major flooding along the Pecatonica River at Shirland, Illinois, and along the Rock River in Moline and the Rockford area.
Flooding has also been reported in Minnesota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. In Green Bay, Wisconsin, officials said residents who evacuated their homes could return now that floodwaters have receded there.
Water was seen seeping into the west side of town despite being the placement of sandbags in Fremont
Horses that were being boarded in Inglewood, Nebraska, are moved through floodwaters to higher ground in Fremont
Surveyors with the USGS take measurement of the Missouri River in Omaha, Nebraska, on Saturday after its floods caused thousands to evacuate
While Sunday was calm, rain and snow is expected to return on Tuesday, which could lead to more flooding
As of Sunday night minor and major flooding persisted in Nebraska with many roads still closed
According to the National Weather Service, the Platte River crested at a record 12.6 feet in Leshara, Nebraska, and at 13.75 feet in Louisville, Nebraska. The river is now in a minor flood stage in both areas
And the perilous weather isn't over just yet. The US Central Plains states could face more flooding this week as rising temperatures accelerate snow melt across the region, weather forecasters said Monday.
'The good news is that apart from some very light rain tonight, this will be generally a dry week across the region,' said Bob Oravec, a meteorologist with the NWS Weather Prediction Center.
'But we're in a warming trend. Slightly above average springtime temperatures means more water from snow melt is going into already flooded river basins,' Oravec said.
Temperatures across the hardest-hit areas of Nebraska and Iowa will be reach highs in the low 50 degrees Fahrenheit through midweek and into the 60s by Friday, he said.
Water levels are expected to rise through the week, according to the NWS, prompting evacuations in communities along the Missouri River on the Nebraska and Iowa border, as well as the Elkhorn and Platte rivers.
Flooding is not expected to abate until at least midweek in the Plains and Midwest region, the NWS reported.
'The big ones (rivers) are at record stages right now,' Marc Chenard of the NWS said Sunday. 'There have been some levy breaks so there are towns that are flooded.'
Gov Ricketts, who declared a statewide emergency last week, wrote on Twitter that he witnessed 'unbelievable devastation' when he visited several flooded communities on Saturday.
'Getting an update from local officials and public safety personnel in Missouri Valley today. Rain and melting snow have caused severe flooding all across Iowa,' Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds said on Sunday on Twitter.
Reynolds also issued an emergency proclamation at the outset of the flooding.
Meteorologists have referred to the storm, which blew from the Western Rockies to the Central Plains last week, as a 'bomb cyclone' -- a winter hurricane that forms when the barometric pressure drops 24 millibars in 24 hours.
'That system brought 1 to 3 inches of rainfall but, on top of that, there was already a deep snowpack over much of the area. So a combination of the rain and snow melt had a large volume of water going pretty quickly into the rivers,' Chenard said.
Link hienalouca.com
https://hienalouca.com/2019/03/18/three-are-killed-in-nebraska-floods-that-have-ruined-500-homes-in-one-county-alone/
Main photo article At least four people have been killed by the devastating Nebraska floods that have cut off access to several towns and ruined 500 homes in one county alone.
Two other men are still missing and presumed dead in Nebraska.
Rainfall and swollen rivers, left in the wake of the ‘bomb cyc...
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Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves US News HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/03/18/13/11136914-6822095-image-a-5_1552916112780.jpg
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