Emergencies declared across Midwest amid ‘historic’ flooding

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 scores of 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, Republican 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 because of rising waters.

Forecasters said Saturday that at least five states were 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 fueled by a powerful winter storm — a “bomb cyclone” — that battered the region with strong winds and heavy rainfall. The resulting flooding was particularly intense because the heavy rain fell on snow that had not melted yet, said Brian Barjenbruch, the science and operations officer for the weather service in Omaha.

“And the ground was completely frozen,” he said. “It’s almost like all of this rain was falling, melting snow, and every last drop had to run off.”

Barjenbruch said the results have been incredibly damaging in parts of eastern Nebraska and western Iowa.

“It is some of the worst flooding that we’ve seen in many years,” Barjenbruch said of those areas. “In some locations it’s the worst flooding on record on many of these river gauges.”

Along with Ricketts, governors in Wisconsin and South Dakota declared emergencies, while Iowa’s governor issued a wave of disaster proclamations. South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem said she signed an emergency declaration to free up more state money for people affected by the storm and the flooding.

In Nebraska, scores of residents 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.