Warning flooding may persist
DES MOINES: Governor Kim Reynolds is warning Iowans what millions of Midwesterners have come to understand in recent days — the severe flooding that has swamped much of the region may be a long way from over.
Reynolds said the snow melt and spring rains could create additional flooding in the weeks ahead because of compromised levees.
‘‘We’re just getting started,’’ said Reynolds, who added that her tour of western Iowa this week had revealed unprecedented flooding.
‘‘It looked like an ocean.’’ In neighboUring Nebraska, 88 cities and 74 counties have issued emergency declarations. Vicepresident Mike Pence promised expedited recovery help through a federal disaster declaration.
At Offutt Air Force Base, Colonel Michael Manion, com mander of the 55th Wing base there, said the base was recovering but that it was ‘‘obvious it will be some time’’ before it returned to normal operations.
‘‘The scope of this historic disaster has touched nearly every aspect of Nebraska,’’ Manion said.
In Missouri, Amtrak service between Kansas City and St Louis was suspended until March 24. Amtrak blamed freight trains diverted to Amtrak’s tracks ‘‘due to historic flooding in the Central US’’.
The current round of flooding, triggered by last week’s brutal ‘‘bomb cyclone’’ storm, was expected to persist across several states into next week.
AccuWeather lead longrange meteorologist Paul Pastelok said flooding could be a chronic problem across much of the Midwest deep into spring.
While the storms probably would not reach ‘‘bomb cyclone’’ intensity, the risk remained of strong storms into May.