Flooding Devastates Midwest, Closes Member Plant

For the safety of its employees, member company Valmont Industries temporarily closed its Valley, Neb., manufacturing plant Friday as flood waters closed roads and highways leading to the plant and surrounded the facility.

The company reported that buildings in West Point and Columbus, Neb. were affected by flooding but remained in operation.

At least 17 high-water records have been set across Nebraska, where nearly 700 people are in evacuation shelters and another 175 have been rescued by the National Guard and State Patrol.

The flooding is the result of the so-called “bomb cyclone” weather event which has devastated parts of the Midwest. Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin have declared states of emergencies. The mayor of Fargo, N.D., called for a million sandbags to barricade the city from the Red River.

As of Tuesday, flooding claimed the lives of at least three people in Nebraska, including a farmer who was swept away while using his tractor to try to help stranded motorists.

Near the flooded Platte River in Nebraska, cattle ranchers were hauling hay and other feed in boats to stranded cattle. The livestock death toll continues to climb.

Light rains are forecast in the Great Plains and the Midwest later this week, and heavy rains are expected next week.

Sources: Bloomberg, Politico