Levee worker dies: Authorities said a man who was working on a levee near a rock quarry in Fort Calhoun in eastern Nebraska died Thursday after his truck rolled.
The Washington County Sheriff's Office said the man was in a truck that rolled off the levee into a ditch. Other workers tried to free him from the wreck.
Sheriff's dispatcher Carolyn Wais identified the man as James McGauley, 58. She did not know where he lived.
Blair update: The Missouri River is now expected to rise 2 feet higher at Blair, Neb., than experts predicted previously. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says it revised its prediction for the river near Blair because of new information it received about how fast the water is moving at that point. The Corps now says the river will rise to between 32 and 34 feet next week after releases from Gavins Point Dam increase to 150,000 cubic feet per second. The river at Blair was already at 30.16 feet Friday. That's well above the flood stage of 26.5 feet. The Corps says the gauge at Blair doesn't collect data on the flow rate, so a team was sent out to collect that. This adjustment doesn't affect other locations on the river.
Levee breached again: A third partial breach of a levee south of Hamburg, Iowa, has been plugged. Mike Crecelius, emergency management director for Fremont County, said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spotted the breach Thursday morning.
Review sought: Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad is calling for a review of the management of the Missouri River after this year’s flooding recedes. Speaking Friday on the public television program, “Iowa Press,” Branstad noted that he has long questioned how the Army Corps of Engineers manages Missouri River dams upriver from Iowa. He said the corps doesn’t adequately protect downriver states. He said the focus should now be on preventing flooding and recovering from any damages, but officials should later examine what could have been done to prevent huge releases of water that are threatening communities in Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri. The corps says the releases are needed because of a wet spring and a huge mountain snowpack.
“It was in the same very unstable area that breached before,” Crecelius said. “It's not a matter if that levee will break but when. They are working furiously to complete the levee around Hamburg before that happens.”
The latest breach was about 100 feet north of the previous two breaches in the Missouri River levee, Crecelius said. Dirt from the nearby slopes was used to close it.
No sightseers, please: The Douglas County Sheriff's Office and Ponca Fire Department ask that people stay away from North River Drive, north of Ponca Road (or, to put it another way, from John J. Pershing Drive north of Hummel Park). Road construction in the area, coupled with congestion from sightseers wanting to see the swollen Missouri River, could hamper public safety response times in extreme northeast Douglas County and southeast Washington County, said Marty Bilek, Douglas County chief deputy sheriff.
River gawkers: The fast-moving Missouri River is making for spectacular displays at the dams that control its flow. Hundreds of sightseers are turning out at Oahe Dam near Pierre, Garrison Dam near Bismarck, N.D., and other locations to see the thundering torrents as the Army Corps of Engineers releases water downstream. All the water must be moved along to make room for heavy rains in western states and snowmelt from the Rocky Mountains. The Missouri is flowing through the power plant and emergency outlet tubes at a record 150,000 cubic feet per second. That's about 1 1/2 times the rate at Niagara Falls on a routine summer day.
Bluffs levees: Work on more than 28 miles of federal levees surrounding Council Bluffs continues, and officials said they expect the levee system to keep the city safe, even when faced with historic amounts of water. Public Works Director Greg Reeder and Operations Director Pat Miller took a tour Thursday of the northernmost levees that protect the city, from Ameristar Casino to Big Lake. Officials have been inspecting levees and adding sandbags on areas where there won't be at least 5 feet between the water and the top of the levee.
Nobody hurt: Two women escaped injury after the vehicle they were traveling in entered floodwaters off Interstate 680 near the one-mile marker just east of the Mormon Bridge. A 2005 Freightliner semitrailer truck hit the white Mazda sedan the women were traveling in at about 10:25 a.m. Thursday, causing the driver to lose control and sending the vehicle into the water, according to the Iowa State Patrol. The patrol identified the driver as Karina Meyer of Tea, S.D. The passenger's name was not released. Authorities cited the driver of the semi, Sterling Ticknor, 40, of Omaha, for improper use of lanes.
Farm aid: Nebraska farmers affected by flooding are being urged to contact their local Farm Service Agency office to report losses. State Agriculture Director Greg Ibach said reports can include failure to plant acres or loss of livestock pasture due to flooding. He said the Farm Service Agency will use the information to pursue agricultural disaster declarations and for assistance programs.
Nuke plant: No floodwater has breached the nuclear power plant at Fort Calhoun, say officials from both the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Omaha Public Power District. NRC spokeswoman Lara Uselding and OPPD spokesman Mike Jones said Thursday that some floodwater is pooling in some of the plant's parking lots, but there had been no confirmed reports of floodwater entering the currently idle plant, they said.
River's crest: The Missouri River at Blair is forecast to crest at 32 to 34 feet, the Army Corps of Engineers said Thursday. That's about 2 feet higher than previously projected. The revision does not reflect any change to flow levels on the river, or change the extent of flooding at Blair forecast by the corps.
Cedar County, Neb: County officials reported the first signs of the river coming out of its banks near Aten.
Dakota County, Neb.: Most gas stations in South Sioux City are pumping gas out of underground tanks and filling the tanks with ballast to keep them in place. Six National Guard soldiers will soon be monitoring local levees.
Evacuation plan: The Fox Run Assisted Living Community building just off Veterans Memorial Highway in Council Bluffs may be in danger of rising waters, but its residents are not, said Ron Perry, executive director. In the event of flooding, Fox Run's 70 residents will be taken to its sister facility, Heritage Ridge Retirement Community in Bellevue, he said.
Montana flooding: The melting snowpack and continuing rain were still causing flooding Thursday across Montana. High water was reported from the Clark Fork River near Missoula to the Missouri River at Wolf Point.
THE RUMOR MILL
Rumor: Flood evacuees are living in a dormitory at the former Dana College in Blair.
Fact: Not yet. But Blair officials have contracted with the Dana College receiver to open a dormitory for evacuees starting this weekend.
Registration forms can be obtained from www.blairnebraska.org. The forms can be faxed to the city at 402-426-4195 or dropped off at City Hall or the Chamber of Commerce.
There is a charge of $150 per month per room. Families, however, will not be charged for additional rooms. The city is seeking donations to help pay for leasing the dormitory, $5,000 a month, and the cost of utilities.
World-Herald staff writers Kevin Cole, David Hendee and Juan Perez Jr. contributed to this report, which includes information from the World-Herald News Service and Associated Press.
Video of the sandbagging effort near North Platte:
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