Catastrophic flooding across the Midwest is decimating entire regions — wiping out roads and bridges, destroying homes and buildings, killing livestock and rendering useless millions of acres of farmland.
EVANSVILLE, Ind., March 22 (UPI) — Catastrophic flooding across the Midwest is decimating entire regions — wiping out roads and bridges, destroying homes and buildings, killing livestock, and rendering useless millions of acres of farmland.
The National Weather Service has predicted the flooding to worsen in the coming weeks, much of it from melting snow and ice. As the flooding spreads, the number of disaster declarations continues to grow.
Here is a breakdown of the flood’s impact by state:
Nebraska
President Donald Trump on Thursday declared a major disaster in Nebraska, making federal money available for recovery on one of the hardest-hit states.
A blizzard had hit the state in early March, freezing the rivers and dumping up to 2 feet of snow. Snow and ice still were on the ground March 12 when a „bomb cyclone“ hit that area. It dumped several inches of rain – and melted all the snow.
The ensuing flood was record-smashing.
„The magnitude of this is hard to comprehend,“ said Steve Nelson, the president of the Nebraska Farm Bureau. „The flood has covered 70 percent of our state.“
The water burst through dozens of levees and dams, forcing thousands to evacuate — including the staff at several hospitals. Three people were killed. At least one nuclear power plant shut down as a precaution. The National Guard coordinated with other state agencies to rescue the stranded and deliver food and potable water to the newly homeless.
The state estimates the damage to infrastructure and private property at around $500 million. That number is expected to increase as the full extent of thatdamage is realized.
To prepare for the flood, Nebraska farmers moved livestock to what had historically been safe ground, Nelson said. In many cases, it wasn’t high enough. Thousands of cattle and other livestock were killed, and more are expected to die from lack of food and potable water.
„We had some forewarning that flooding was expected,“ said Talia Goes, a spokeswoman for the Nebraska Beef Cattlemen’s Association. „I don’t think anyone was prepared for the amount of flooding we got.“
The state estimates cattle farmers have lost around $400 million – a figure that is expected to go up once the damage can be fully assessed, Goes said.
