Roads Open As County Continues Flood Repairs

Two weeks after Antelope County issued a travel ban and an emergency declaration, more roads are open than closed across the county.

That’s good news since NEMA announced late last week that Antelope County’s maximum funds from the state will be $25,269.30. Federal funds from flood damage are unknown at this time.

On Thursday, President Donald J. Trump declared that a major disaster exists in Nebraska and ordered federal aid to supplement state, tribal and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by a severe winter storm, straight-line winds and flooding.

Federal funding is available for eligible local governments on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work in Antelope County.

FEMA called county officials on Tuesday inquiring about contact information and setting a meeting time and location for Antelope County. Sheriff Bob Moore, who is also the county’s emergency manager, said FEMA officials will set a meeting date soon.

Moore said he’s not sure what will be discussed at the first meeting other than going over damage expenses. Estimates provided by the state show Antelope County has about $7 million in public damage.

“They want to know what we truly have as damage,” Moore said.

Antelope County Road Superintendent Casey Dittrich spent much of Tuesday on roads verifying which ones could be opened to the public.

“There’s a lot more blue on our map now than last week,” Dittrich said. “We’re moving in the right direction.

County workers also spent time Tuesday removing barricades. Snow fences put across roads were removed from repaired roads while traditional barricades were placed for more permanent closures on other roads.

Sheriff Bob Moore said throughout the travel ban, which was lifted at 6 a.m. on Thursday, he was happy with the response from residents in the county.

“I’m pleased with the cooperation from people staying out of the way of county trucks and off closed county roads,” Moore said. “We haven’t had complaints of people getting stuck and causing problems, so we really appreciate the public’s support in respecting the signage.”
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School was allowed to resume in the county on Thursday after three days of no travel on rural roads due to damage from the historic flood.

How The Flood Impacts Everyone​

Nebraska ranks:
#1 in the nation for percentage of agricultural land with 91 percent of its land used for either farming or ranching.
#2 in the nation for beef production. It is second to Texas, which is 3.5 times larger in square miles.
#2 in the nation for ethanol production at 2.3 billion gallons per year. Ethanol is automotive fuel made from grain, primarily corn.
#3 in the nation in corn production.
#4 in the nation for contributed agricultural exports to the world market, making $7.2 billion in sales of goods to the world market.

Nebraska:
exports 50 percent of its 46 million harvested bushels of wheat annually.
agriculture contributed $104 billion to the United States GDP (gross domestic product) last year, and $25 billion to its own state economy.