‘Like an ocean’: Flooding could last weeks
DES MOINES, Iowa – Gov. 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 far from over.
Reynolds said the snowmelt and spring rains could bring more flooding in the weeks ahead because of compromised levees.
“We’re in for the long haul. 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 neighboring Nebraska, 88 cities and 74 counties have issued emergency declarations. Vice President Mike Pence visited the state Tuesday and promised quick help through a federal disaster declaration.
At Offutt Air Force Base, Col. Michael Manion, commander of the 55th Wing base there, said the base was recovering but it was “obvious it will be some time” before it returned to normal.
“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 through Sunday. Amtrak blamed freight trains diverted to Amtrak’s tracks “due to historic flooding in the Central U.S.”
The flooding, triggered by last week’s “bomb cyclone” storm, was expected to persist across several states into next week. The Army Corps of Engineers says more than a dozen levees have been damaged or simply overwhelmed in Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri.
AccuWeather lead long-range meteorologist Paul Pastelok said flooding could be a problem across much of the Midwest deep into spring, which formally kicked off Wednesday. Add El Niño to the causes, he said, because the weather phenomenon “is likely to persist through the spring and not weaken like it usually does this time of the year.”
Translation: While the storms probably won’t reach “bomb cyclone” intensity, there will remain the risk of strong storms into May.
Martha Bane, a managing director at the risk management firm Gallagher, said the effect can be serious on businesses in Nebraska and throughout the region. She said some companies not in flood zones don’t have flood insurance.
According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, more than 40 percent of small businesses never reopen after a disaster, Bane said. “The longer the floods linger the more likely some businesses may not recover.” There were small victories.
In Iowa, residents of Lehigh, population 400, were cleaning up from weekend flooding that some said was the worst they had ever seen along the Des Moines River.
Floodwaters receded after an ice jam broke apart about 4 miles south of town, said Kelly Goodpastor, owner of Riverside Tap on River Street.
“Instantly it was gone,” Goodpastor said. “Like somebody plunged the toilet.”