Flood damage: $13M so far

LINCOLN — Gov. Dave Heineman is expected to request a federal disaster declaration Monday on behalf of Nebraska communities hit by recent flooding.

State emergency management officials said Friday they had tallied nearly $13 million in damage to bridges, roads and other public property.

“Even though the waters have receded, there's a significant amount of work to be completed, to clean up debris and do assessments,” Lt. Gov. Rick Sheehy said.

So far, 44 of 60 counties reviewed would qualify for disaster assistance, said Al Berndt, assistant director of the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency. Six other counties still are being reviewed.

“This is a very preliminary assessment to serve as a guide to the governor as he makes a disaster request,” Berndt said. “When the dust settles, the damage figure will be higher.”

Anecdotes related by Sheehy and other emergency officials illustrated the widespread nature of the flooding damage.

Sheehy told of an aerial tour of Norfolk, Stanton, Clearwater and Valley along the Elkhorn River in northeast Nebraska and of Schuyler along the Platte River.

He mentioned heading to Neligh later Friday to meet with officials there to discuss flood damage to Neligh Mills State Historical Site.

Tom Sands, operations chief of the Nebraska Department of Roads, said three highways remained closed as of Friday because of flood damage:

• U.S. Highway 159 near Rulo, along the Missouri River in southeast Nebraska.

• Nebraska 96 near the Calamus Reservoir in the Sand Hills.

• U.S. 183 near Taylor, along the Loup River in the Sand Hills.

Sands said temporary repairs should make Nebraska 96 and U.S. Highway 183 passable within the next several days.

Randy Jones of the American Red Cross told of setting up emergency shelters near Beatrice in southeast Nebraska and providing meals at King Lake outside Omaha.

Jones said meals and bulk distribution of emergency supplies would continue through Sunday at King Lake.

Sheehy said that in some ways the lingering crisis of a flood is more difficult to handle than damage caused by wind storms and tornadoes that strike and then dissipate.

“You continue to chase the crest of the river as it moves across the state,” he said. “It takes its toll on individuals and responders.”

Yet he recounted several instances where he saw what he called “the Nebraska spirit” shining through.

They included the townspeople of Clearwater, population 384, who built a one-fourth-mile-long sandbag dike in 24 hours to protect their town.

In Superior, people cleared away tornado damage within a couple of days of being hit by the storm, he said.

In Rulo, a man on a Jet Ski spoke to emergency officials while they viewed flooding damage. He told them that people in Rulo were used to flooding, and they knew the water would go down.

“It's really the spirit of Nebraska,” Sheehy said. “People are helping people.”

Berndt said it could be months or even years before the flooding's final toll is calculated. He said it is too soon to estimate the amount of damage to private property.

Stephen Thompson, coordinating officer for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, urged citizens to go ahead with cleanup and rebuilding, but to document the damage.

“Take pictures, write down descriptions and save your receipts,” he said.

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