Nebraska Flooding Worst In Decades; Bridges & Roads Closed, Washed Out Or Destroyed In Much Of State

Ed. - This is from Kearney in sohth-central Nebraska:

HOLDREGE — Flooding and road damage are major issues throughout much of Hub Territory, including Custer, Dawson, Sherman, Gosper, Phelps, Kearney and Furnas counties, on the heels of the bomb cyclone that brought rain, a blizzard and high winds to areas that already had standing water in fields and ditches.

“It’s really bad. In the time that I have been here - as an example when we had past FEMA declaration in ‘93, 2006, 2008, 2010 this is bigger than all of those,” said Custer County Highway Superintendent Chris Jacobsen.

Jacobsen said there isn’t a road in the entire county that hasn’t been underwater or had water over it. The flooding has caused roads and bridges to wash out across the county. “Bridge approaches are gone on the south of the river in multiple locations,” Jacobsen said. “We are trying to take a systematic approach, prioritize the needs of our constituents. If they don’t get the road or bridge back, they are going to run out of feed or supplies.”

One of the most daunting parts is trying to access these flooded locations without equipment sinking or getting stuck. Some residents in rural areas are able to get to roads by crossing pastures with ATVs, but it’s becoming a challenge to get back and forth to their cattle operations, Jacobsen explained.

EDIT

https://www.kearneyhub.com/news/local/road-damage-flooding-in-central-nebraska-counties-is-really-bad/article_8b584674-4789-11e9-8b6c-03eb721fe6a0.html#12



OMAHA — Gov. Pete Ricketts and other state officials witnessed a helicopter rescue mission, saw wiped-out bridges, islands of stranded cattle and towns engulfed by water during a flyover of flooded areas Friday.

The expanse of the flooding made detecting the main channels of the Elkhorn and Platte rivers difficult in some areas, he said. “This may be the most widespread flooding devastation we’ve had in our state in the last half-century,” Ricketts said.

Flooding has prompted evacuations in at least 20 communities and 23 counties, according to Nebraska Emergency Management Agency Assistant Director Bryan Tuma.

As of Friday afternoon, one person, 50-year-old Columbus-area farmer James Wilke, had been confirmed dead and three people remain missing because of the flooding.

EDIT

https://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/nebraska/widespread-flooding-devastation-surpassing-record-levels-along-nebraska-rivers/article_96b12925-5d23-579a-ac73-7df2d176bd81.html