'Unprecedented' flooding in U.S. midwest leaves 3 dead, 2 missing

Hundreds of homes have flooded in several Midwestern states after rivers breached at least a dozen levees following heavy rain and snowmelt, authorities said Monday while warning the flooding was expected to linger.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says levees that have been topped or breached in Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and Kansas contributed to the flooding.

At least three deaths were blamed on flooding and two other men have been missing for days.

Many homes in a mostly rural area of Missouri's Holt County were inundated with 1.8 to 2.1 metres of water from the swollen Missouri River, said the county's emergency management director, Tom Bullock. He said his own home was now on an island surrounded by floodwater.

One couple was rescued in a helicopter after water from three breached levees swept across 40,000 acres, he said. Another nine breaches have been confirmed in Nebraska and Iowa counties south of the Platte River, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

"The levees are busted and we aren't even into the wet season when the rivers run high," Bullock said, noting local farmers are only a month away from planting corn and soybeans. "The water isn't going to be gone, and the levees aren't going to be fixed this year."

In nearby Atchison County, about 130 people were urged to leave their homes as water levels rose and strained levees, three of which had already been overtopped by water. Missouri State Highway Patrol crews were on standby to rescue anyone who insisted on staying despite the danger.

"The next four to five days are going to be pretty rough," said Rhonda Wiley, Atchison County's emergency management and 911 director.

'This wasn't a gradual rise'

In Iowa, the Missouri River reached 9.2 metres Sunday in Fremont County in the state's far southwestern corner, a record high. People in the towns of Bartlett and Thurman, about 250 in total, were being evacuated as levees were breached and overtopped.

County Emergency Management Director Mike Crecelius said it wasn't just the amount of the water, it was the swiftness of the current that created a danger.

"This wasn't a gradual rise," Crecelius said. "It's flowing fast and it's open country — there's nothing there to slow it down."

Lucinda Parker of Iowa Homeland Security & Emergency Management said nearly 2,000 people have been evacuated at eight Iowa locations since flooding began late last week. Most were staying with friends or family. Seven shelters set up for flood victims held just a couple dozen people Saturday night.

U.S. Air Force base damaged

The Missouri River has already crested upstream of Omaha, Neb., though hundreds of people remained out of their homes.

In Nebraska, the Missouri River flooded Offutt Air Force Base, with a spokesperson telling the Omaha World-Herald on Sunday that 60 buildings, mostly on the south end of the base, have been damaged, including about 30 completely inundated with as much as 2.4 metres of water.

Hundreds of people remained out of their homes in the state, where floodwaters reached record levels at 17 locations. The Nebraska Emergency Management Agency highlighted some remarkably high crests. 

In hard-hit Sarpy County, Neb., up to 500 homes have been damaged, including some cabins along a lake, said Greg London of the Sarpy County Sheriff's Office.

London said many of the damaged homes are wet up to the roof line and likely ruined.

"This area's had flooding before but not of this magnitude," London said. "This is unprecedented."

At least three people have died in the floodwaters:

• An 80-year-old woman died in her Nebraska home after she was trapped by the flooding Loup River.
• A 52-year-old Nebraska man was swept away Friday night in southwestern Iowa, when the vehicle he was in went around a barricade. Two others in the vehicle survived — one by clinging to a tree.
• A 50-year-old Columbus, Neb., farmer died Thursday when a bridge collapsed as he used a tractor to try and reach stranded motorists.

In St. Joseph, Mo., home to 76,000 people, volunteers were helping to fill sandbags to help secure a levee protecting an industrial area. Calls were out for even more volunteers in hopes of filling 150,000 sandbags by Tuesday, when the Missouri River is expected to climb to 8.2 metres — three metres above technical flood stage.

Flooding was causing problems for passenger train service between Kansas City, Mo., and St. Louis. Amtrak said Sunday that its Missouri River Runner service between the state's two largest cities was experiencing delays up to five hours because of flooding and rail congestion.

All Missouri River Runner trains were cancelled Monday. The service typically travels twice daily between the two metropolitan areas.

The Missouri Department of Transportation reports about 100 flood-related road closures, including a stretch of Interstate 29.

The rising Mississippi River also was creating concern. The Mississippi was already at major flood level along the Iowa-Illinois border, closing roads and highways and swamping thousands of acres of farmland. Moderate Mississippi River flooding was expected at several Missouri cities, including St. Louis.

Flooding has also been reported in Minnesota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. In Green Bay, Wis., officials said residents who evacuated their homes could return now that floodwaters have receded there.