Page 3 - ARUBA TODAY

A3
U.S. NEWS Monday 25 March 2019

Experts warn Midwest flood risk may persist for months

By JIM SALTER May,” Brinton said. “With ty were bitten by snakes af-
Associated Press our levee breaches in ter returning home follow-
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Even as Atchison and Holt and Bu- ing flooding in 2011.
floodwaters receded in chanan counties, it’s kind The Missouri River had yet
hard-hit places in in the of scary really.” to crest further downstream
Midwest, experts warned A precautionary evacu- in Missouri, but the flooding
Saturday that with plenty ation involving hundreds impact in those areas was
of snow still left to melt in of homes in the St. Joseph expected to be far less se-
northern states, the relief area was lifted as the Mis- vere.
may only be temporary. souri River began a swift In South Dakota, Gov. Kristi
Rainfall and some snow- decline after unofficially ris- Noem activated 13 mem-
melt spurred flooding in re- ing to a new all-time high, bers of the Army National
cent weeks that’s blamed inches above the 1993 re- Guard to help distribute wa-
in three deaths so far, with cord. St. Joseph was large- ter on the Pine Ridge Indian An angel statuary graces a yard near Hansen Lake Friday,
two men in Nebraska miss- ly spared, but Brinton said Reservation after floodwa- March 22, 2019, in Bellevue, Neb.
ing for more than a week. 250 homes were flooded ters washed out a county Associated Press
Thousands were forced in the southern part of Bu- waterline. The guardsmen ties of Red Shirt, Pine Ridge, will set up from a central lo-
from their homes in Ne- chanan County. It wasn’t will provide drinkable water Porcupine, Evergreen and cation in each community
braska, Iowa and Missouri, clear when residents would to people in the communi- Wounded Knee. The Guard until the waterline is fixed.q
as water broke through or be able to get back.
poured over levees in the When they do, officials
region. The damage is es- say they need to be care-
timated at $3 billion, and ful. Contaminants that es-
that figure is expected to caped from flooded farm
rise. fields, industrial operations
As temperatures start to and sewage plants are
warm, snowmelt in the Da- part of the murky water
kotas and Minnesota will now saturating homes.
escalate, sending more “We don’t want them in
water down the Missouri that water, anyway,” Hick-
and Mississippi rivers and ey said.
their tributaries. Experts also warn that
Lt. Col. James Startzell, sharp objects — broken
deputy commander of the glass, pieces of metal,
Corps of Engineers’ Oma- pointy sticks and rocks —
ha, Nebraska, district, said could lurk in muddy debris.
even warmer tempera- Downed or broken power
tures are possible into next lines also may pose elec-
week. He urged people liv- trocution hazards.
ing near rivers to be watch- On Saturday, Iowa Gov.
ful. Kim Reynolds said President
Bill Brinton, emergency Donald Trump granted her
management director for request for an expedited
hard-hit Buchanan County, disaster declaration for
Missouri, which includes St. 56 counties with flooding
Joseph’s 76,000 residents, damage. The move makes
said his counties and sur- assistance available to ho-
rounding ones have al- meowners, renters, busi-
ready been ravaged by nesses, public entities and
flooding. some nonprofit organiza-
“There’s a sense from the tions.
National Weather Service Another risk is posed by
that we should expect it to wildlife. Brinton said two
continue to happen into people in Buchanan Coun-