.jpg) March 2018 and March 2019 side-by-side comparison of the Omaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area showing effects of flooding of the Platte and Missouri Rivers. | |
| Date | March 2019 – December 2019[1] |
|---|---|
| Location | Midwestern United States |
| Deaths | 3 |
| Property damage | $2.9 billion ($1.6 billion in Iowa; $1.3 billion in Nebraska) |
The Midwestern United States experienced major floods in the spring of 2019, primarily along the Missouri River and its tributaries in Nebraska, Missouri, South Dakota, Iowa, and Kansas. The Mississippi River also saw flooding, although starting later and ending earlier. The 2019 January-to-May period was the wettest on record for the U.S., with multiple severe weather outbreaks through May in the Midwest, High Plains, and South exacerbating the flooding and causing additional damage.[2][3][4] Throughout late May and early June, rain in Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri caused every site on the Mississippi River to record a top-five crest.[5] At least three people in Iowa and Nebraska died.[6]
Nearly 14 million people in the midwestern and southern states were affected by the flooding, which the New York Times called "The Great Flood of 2019".[1]
New record river levels were set in 42 different locations.[7]
Although $12 billion in aid was made "available to farmers who lost money due to the trade war" the previous year, Reuters reported that the USDA had "no program to cover the catastrophic and largely uninsured stored-crop losses from the widespread flooding."[8] In Nebraska, under the banner "Nebraska Strong", private fundraisers popped up across the state to help ease the financial strain, as well as offers to donate supplies, house livestock, or donate farming supplies lost. The largest private fundraiser came from Alex Stepanek of St. Paul, Nebraska, who raised $241,756 through a Facebook fundraiser. After seeing a post he created bringing attention to the devastation across the state go viral around the world, he created the fundraiser and by the following day had over $100,000.[9] The money was distributed throughout 5 towns, 5 counties, four families who had loved ones die in the flood, and the largest chunk (1/3) went to the Nebraska Farm Bureau to go directly to agriculture and farmer needs.[9]
At least 1 million acres of U.S. farmland, in nine major grain producing states, flooded.[10]
On September 17, 2019, a third round of flooding along the Missouri River was considered likely, due to heavy rains of up to "four times what is normal in parts of Montana, North and South Dakota and Nebraska."[11]
On October 28, 2019, it was predicted that the prolonged Missouri River flooding, which lasted as long as seven months in some locations, could continue all winter, with no end in sight.[12]
On December 16, 2019, the prolonged Missouri River flooding in the Kansas City district was declared officially over.[13]
- ^ a b Almukhtar, Sarah; Migliozzi, Blacki; Schwartz, John; Williams, Josh (September 11, 2019). "The Great Flood of 2019: A Complete Picture of a Slow-Motion Disaster". New York Times. Archived from the original on September 12, 2019. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
- ^ "Severe Won't Let Up: Major Outbreak and Flood Threat Looming for Monday by Bob Henson | Category 6". Weather Underground. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
- ^ "Classic Spring Severe Weather Outbreak on Tap for Southern Plains by Bob Henson | Category 6". Weather Underground. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
- ^ "Wettest 12 Months in U.S. History—Again by Bob Henson | Category 6". Weather Underground. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
- ^ US Department of Commerce, NOAA. "Spring Flooding Summary 2019". www.weather.gov. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
- ^ Smith, Mitch (March 20, 2019). "An Iowa Town Fought and Failed to Save a Levee. Then Came the Flood". The New York Times. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
- ^ Erdman, Jonathan (March 17, 2019). "Record Flooding in Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois Follows Snowmelt, Bomb Cyclone". The Weather Channel, via Climate Signals. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
- ^ Polansek, Tom (April 2, 2019). "U.S. disaster aid won't cover crops drowned by Midwest floods". Reuters, via Climate Signals. Archived from the original on September 21, 2019. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
- ^ a b Service, Betsie Freeman BH Media News. "An astonishing fundraiser". The Grand Island Independent. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
- ^ Huffstutter, P.J.; Pamuk, Humeyra (April 1, 2019). "Exclusive: More than 1 million acres of U.S. cropland ravaged by floods". Reuters, via Climate Signals. Archived from the original on September 22, 2019. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:10was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Associated Press (October 28, 2019). "Prolonged Missouri River flooding could last all winter". KSDK. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
- ^ "Missouri River flood in Kansas City district officially over". KSHB. December 16, 2019. Retrieved December 17, 2019.