Staff Writer
Jess Anderson
Homes destroyed, lives ruined, for several weeks homes all across the United States have been struck with floods of the century. After the endless feet of snow, and rapid fluctuation of climate, the snow had melted and ended up flooding areas from Missouri, Nebraska, and Iowa. Rivers have reached historic levels in 41 locations across the Midwest, flooding up to 6 to 7 feet of water that has killed at least three people, forced countless evacuations, breached dams and levees, damaged hundreds of homes, and flooded a military base.
According to Nebraska’s Sarpy County Sheriff’s office over 500 houses were destroyed as the result of the recent floods, and the destruction is insurmountable. One of the victims, identified as 50 year old, James Wilke, was killed Thursday after attempting to rescue a stranded motorist on his tractor, which was soon carried away by the flood waters.
Flood warnings and advisories addressed the public to stay cautious until Wednesday due to excess flooding, including the Missouri River in Fremont County which had reached a record breaking 30.2 feet.
Along with the millions of dollars in damage came the collapse of the Spencer Dam on the Niobrara River located in Nebraska. Raging waters and ice blocks measured at 17.5 feet ended up breaching the dam and causing catastrophe all over the state of Nebraska.
As for the farmers of these states they say, “It’s probably over for us”, in the New York Times article issue. The record breaking floods had swept through most farm area, destroying any chance for new agriculture or crops to be grown. This has raised fears for many, considering the falling income and rising bankruptcies. After the failure of the Spencer Dam, lowland owned by farmers were flooded by ice-filled Niobrara River. Farmer Clint Pischel, 23, spent hours gathering the bodies of dead calves that had been crushed by ice chunks off of what was remaining of his land. According to the American Farm Bureau, bankruptcy declared by farmers located in the Midwest rose 19% towards it’s highest rate in history.
