At least three people are confirmed to have lost their lives so far amid record-setting floods affecting parts of Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, and other nearby states. Thousands of people have been asked to evacuate, and many have been away from their homes for days in hard-hit Nebraska, following last week’s “bomb cyclone” weather system that dropped huge amounts of precipitation—adding to existing troubles from heavy snowmelt and ice-choked rivers. Dams and levees were overwhelmed, roads have been washed away, and some neighborhoods, farms, and military bases now sit in water up to eight feet deep. Some of the rivers in eastern Nebraska are beginning to recede, and others are expected to crest within 24 hours. Areas downstream, along the Mississippi River Valley, are preparing for likely flooding.
In Photos: Deadly Floods Sweep the Midwest
- Alan Taylor
- March 18, 2019
- 24 Photos
- In Focus
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A BNSF train sits in floodwaters from the Platte River, in Plattsmouth, Nebraska, on March 17, 2019. #
Nati Harnik / AP -
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Flooded apartments are seen in this aerial photo taken above the Elkhorn River in Nebraska on March 16, 2019. #
Office of Governor Pete Ricketts / Handout via Reuters -
People view the rising waters from the Platte and Missouri rivers that flooded areas of Plattsmouth, Nebraska, on March 17, 2019. #
Nati Harnik / AP -
Thick slabs of ice surround a structure in Fremont, Nebraska, on March 14, 2019, after the ice-covered Platte River flooded its banks. #
Nati Harnik / AP -
Jim Freeman tries to saw through thick ice slabs on his property in Fremont, Nebraska, on March 14, 2019, after the ice-covered Platte River flooded. #
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A man tries to get cows to higher ground in Turkey Creek, near Milligan, Nebraska, on March 13, 2019. #
Beth Vavra via Reuters -
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A photograph of the damage done to the Spencer Dam after an ice jam broke through near Spencer, Nebraska, on March 14, 2019 #
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A Nebraska National Guard helicopter drops sandbags to protect water wells in Lincoln, Nebraska, on March 16, 2019. #
Office of Governor Pete Ricketts / Handout via Reuters -
Offutt Air Force Base and the surrounding areas affected by floodwaters are seen in this aerial photo taken near Omaha, Nebraska, on March 16, 2019. #
Rachelle Blake / U.S. Air Force / Handout via Reuters -
Flooded Camp Ashland, an Army National Guard facility, is seen in this aerial photo taken in Ashland, Nebraska, on March 17, 2019. #
Herschel Talley / Nebraska National Guard / Handout via Reuters -
The high waters of the Missouri River almost cover figures in the Monument to Labor statue in Omaha, Nebraska, on March 16, 2019. #
Nati Harnik / AP -
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A fence encrusted with ice and cornstalks stands in floodwaters of the Elkhorn River, in Norfolk, Nebraska, on March 15, 2019. #
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Gabe Schmidt, the owner of Liquid Trucking (top right), travels by airboat with Glenn Wyles (top left), Mitch Snyder (bottom left), and Juan Jacobo (bottom right), as they survey damage from the floodwaters of the Platte River, in Plattsmouth, Nebraska, on March 17, 2019. #
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Floodwaters cover roads and farms in low-lying areas near Bellevue, Nebraska, in March of 2019. #
Shutterstock / Aspects and Angles -
Floodwaters swamp buildings in Bellevue, Nebraska, in March of 2019. #
Shutterstock / Aspects and Angles -
An aerial view of the damaged Spencer Dam, near Bristow, Nebraska, on March 16, 2019 #
Office of Governor Pete Ricketts / Handout via Reuters -
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Flooded Camp Ashland is seen in this aerial photo taken in Ashland, Nebraska, on March 17, 2019. #
Herschel Talley / Nebraska National Guard / Handout via Reuters -
A railroad crossing is flooded with water from the Platte River, in Plattsmouth, Nebraska, on March 17, 2019. #
Nati Harnik / AP -
Cattle surrounded by water stand in Morse Bluff, Nebraska, on March 15, 2019, in this screengrab obtained from a social-media video. #
Justin Mensik via Reuters -
An aerial view of damaged buildings after a storm triggered historic flooding, in Valley, Nebraska, from a video taken on March 16, 2019 #
Office of Governor Pete Ricketts / Handout via Reuters -
Part of the flooded Camp Ashland Army National Guard facility is seen in this aerial photo taken in Ashland, Nebraska, on March 17, 2019. #
Herschel Talley / Nebraska National Guard / Handout via Reuters -
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Flooded housing in Camp Ashland, photographed above Ashland, Nebraska, on March 17, 2019 #
Herschel Talley / Nebraska National Guard / Handout via Reuters -
Destructive flooding after the Spencer Dam broke, photographed near Spencer, Nebraska, on March 14, 2019 #
Shutterstock / Robert2001 -
Flooded RVs, washed away by the floodwaters of the Platte River, are seen in Merritt's RV Park in Plattsmouth, Nebraska, on March 17, 2019. #
Nati Harnik / AP
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