The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Emergencies declared across Midwest amid ‘historic’ flooding
Flooding is likely to continue through weekend, forecasters say.
Authorities in the Midwest declared states of emergency amid what they called “historic” flooding, which forecasters warned would stretch through the weekend.
The flooding shut down roads, forced people to evacuate their homes and cut off access to some towns and cities. In Nebraska, which has seen some of the most significant flooding, Gov. Pete Ricketts said the impacts of the “devastating flooding … could last for quite some time.”
Even the forecasters were not immune: The National Weather Service in Omaha reported Friday that it had to evacuate its offices. Forecasters said Saturday that at least five states were still facing the flood threat.
“Major and historical river flooding will continue this weekend focused across Iowa, southern Minnesota and Wisconsin, eastern Nebraska and southeast South Dakota,” the National Weather Service reported.
The surging water was left behind by a powerful winter storm — a so-called bomb cyclone — that battered the region with strong winds and heavy rainfall. Along with Ricketts, governors in Wisconsin and South Dakota declared emergencies, while Iowa’s governor issued a wave of disaster proclamations.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said she signed an emergency declaration opening up more state funds for people hit by the winter storm and the flooding that followed.
“The storms this week have been extremely difficult for many of our communities,” Noem said in a statement. “This has been a statewide emergency with people impacted by heavy snow, high winds, rain, and freezing rain.”
In his emergency declaration, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers said the storm had “moved across the entire state of Wisconsin” between Wednesday and Friday. In its wake, he said, water was “rising swiftly.”
“The warm temperatures and rain the last few days have caused much of the heavy snowpack and ice to melt resulting in flooding, ice jams, and rivers and creeks to rise,” Evers said in a statement.
In Nebraska, scores of residents had rushed into shelters while state troopers fanned out for water rescues, officials said.
“Nebraska has experienced historic flooding and extreme weather in nearly every region of the state,” Ricketts posted in a statement on Twitter. He issued a disaster declaration on Tuesday.
Forecasters have also warned that, because of significant precipitation during winter and because of what The Washington Post called “an active spring storm track through the nation’s midsection,” flooding in the Midwest may only be the start of a painful flood season.