Jessica Wade
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Roughly 600 acres of Mickayla Petersen’s family farm is underwater.
The University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) elementary education major provided the video below which shows fields in the Lyons/Bancroft area completely submerged.
Petersen said it could take weeks for the land to dry out.
“Planting starts in about a week,” Petersen said. “All of the fertilizer that they put on is gone. A lot of wasted money and now the field is littered with trash logs and just about everything else.”
While the family’s farmland and cabin have been damaged by the waters, Petersen said their home is unharmed.
UNO alumna and North Bend resident Alexis Allgood evacuated with her parents from their home near River Shores Lake Thursday due to Shell Creek in Schuyler over flowing.
Allgood and her family traveled to North Bend to stay with her grandparents, and while helping to prepare food for firefighters with other volunteers, the Allgood noticed the water slowly trickling along Highway 30.
“No more than five minutes later, we looked out the window again and the water was coming so fast down the streets from the west,” Allgood said. “We were rushing around my grandparents house trying to grab as many things as we could, our dog, and we got in our cars and headed north towards Snyder.”
Allgood said she heard from neighbors who stayed in the River Shore Lake area that her family’s home hadn’t been touched yet by the water, but she’s unsure if conditions have changed.
“It’s not really known right now when anyone will be allowed to go back to North Bend or when we’ll be able to get into the lake to see our house,” Allgood said.
Despite the conditions, Allgood said the community had come together in response.
“That’s one of the best things about being from a small town – news travels fast, everybody knows everybody, and everyone is always willing to drop everything to lend a hand in times of need.”
Psychology major Tyler Nielsen headed from his apartment in Omaha to his family’s home in Valley Friday morning.
“228th and Dodge is completely covered in water along with the river almost completely submerging the bridge near there,” Nielsen said. “Riverside is completely flooded, Waterloo is surrounded by the river, and Dodge was just being shut down when I was leaving there.”
Nielsen said with his family on vacation he headed back to get his dog Charlie and to move a few belongings to higher ground.
“Don’t stay because this is the worst flooding we’ve had since 1969 and stay away from Waterloo until flood waters die down,” Nielsen said.
Education major Ashley Ortmeier said her father Andy Ortmeier, Rescue Captain of the Dodge Rescue Squad, has spent most of Friday assisting people in relocating.
“The surrounding communities have been coming together to donate food and supplies for these displaced people,” Ashley Ortmeier said. “Snyder firemen canceled their scheduled fish fry for tonight and served that food to the evacuees. There is still a lot of displaced livestock that we as a community are trying to figure out what to do with.”
Are you a UNO student or alumn affected by the Nebraska flooding? We’d like to hear from you! Email: editorinchief@www.unothegateway.com.
