The attorney for the family of a 71-year-old Niobrara man killed in 2019 when the Spencer Dam collapsed asked the Nebraska Supreme Court to revive their lawsuit against the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources.
Omaha attorney Mike Coyle, who represents Kenny Angel's family, argued Nebraska Supreme Court Justices should send the case against the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources back to district court so they can "have their day in court."
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These before-and-after satellite images show the full extent of 2019 flood devastation in Nebraska.
The Spencer Dam collapse
- OFFICE OF GOV. PETE RICKETTS
A 92-year-old dam that collapsed March 14, 2019 amid had been classified by state inspectors last year as having a “significant” risk of causing damage.
A man who lived in a home below the dam, Kenny Angel, was swept away in the collapse and is presumed dead, and a quarter mile section of U.S. Highway 281 was washed out. Read more
Spencer Dam: What went wrong?
- WORLD-HERALD NEWS SERVICE
A four-member team from the Association of State Dam Safety Officials, a national nonprofit organization, will conduct an independent review of the Spencer dam.
The review will focus on what can be learned about the dam collapse to guide future dam construction, according to Lori Arthur, a spokeswoman for the Natural Resources Department. Read more
Offutt Air Force Base couldn't stop the floodwaters
- THE WORLD-HERALD
Even the U.S. Air Force couldn’t stop the Mighty Missouri River from flooding Offutt Air Force Base. Between March 16 and 17 sandbagging efforts were called off as flood waters began to rise. Read more
As the Platte River swelled into Fremont, the city became an island
- KENT SIEVERS/THE WORLD-HERALD
The Platte River swelled into Fremont, turning the city into an island.
Shelters in Fremont alone counted up to 1,100 people, with more evacuees expected from Snyder, Nebraska. And those numbers don’t capture the swaths of people riding out the flood in hotel rooms or crashing on the couches of family and friends.
Hundreds gather in Fremont for flood-risk briefing
- NANCY GAARDER/THE WORLD-HERALD
Hundreds of people filled Christensen Field Arena in Fremont to hear a National Weather Service update on this year’s flood risk Feb. 4.
The crowd received a nuanced, but somewhat reassuring, explanation from National Weather Service hydrologist Dave Pearson. Read more
Paradise Lakes community residents deal with mixed messages
- REECE RISTAU/THE WORLD-HERALD
Before the water even reached the community, Paradise Lake residents were sent mixed messages.
Law enforcement officials went door to door encouraging residents to evacuate, Paradise Lakes residents received a different message from their landlord: Your homes are safe. Read more
Paradise Lakes community's imminent demolition
- REECE RISTAU/THE WORLD-HERALD
The Bellevue City Council voted to condemn the community and told residents that they had until the end of July to take action on removing their homes. The remaining structures were expected to be razed by a city-hired company in early August.
Jim Ristow, Bellevue’s city administrator, said in August that officials are now taking a cautious approach moving forward because they don’t want taxpayers to be on the hook for the estimated $1.2 million needed for demolition.
Plattsmouth's water treatment plant back up and running
- CHRIS MACHIAN/THE WORLD-HERALD
Plattsmouth notched a major victory in September when its flood-battered water treatment plant got back up and running, ending months of water rationing.
But the city’s ongoing battle with the waters of the Platte River isn’t over. Read more
Winslow: a town considers relocating
- ELSIE STORMBERG/THE WORLD-HERALD
Winslow floods.
One in 1996 brought water inside town and into basements, but it was nothing like the surge of water that clobbered Winslow in mid-March, when historic flooding struck parts of central and eastern Nebraska.
Winslow: A town ready to relocate
- ELSIE STORMBERG/THE WORLD-HERALD
A group of state and federal officials who met in Winslow in January said plenty of hurdles stand in the village's way.
Those obstacles include state law, the likely millions of dollars needed to put in new streets and utilities in Winslow 2.0 and its dwindling population.
Camp Ashland hit hard by flooding
- BRENDAN SULLIVAN/WORLD-HERALD
On St. Patrick’s Day weekend 2019, a violent chute of water raged through a gash in the levee that for decades protected the Nebraska National Guard’s main training site from the Platte River. Floodwaters surged into classrooms, barracks and offices, wrecking furniture and tools and leaving a muddy watermark 5 feet high on inside walls.
Nebraska National Guard receives full funding for repairs to Camp Ashland
- BRENDAN SULLIVAN/WORLD-HERALD
The Nebraska National Guard learned in January that it will receive full funding, totaling $62.3 million, to fully rebuild the Camp Ashland training site, according to a statement released Wednesday by the state’s adjutant general, Maj. Gen. Daryl Bohac. Read more
Floods came to Nebraska farmland and left tons of sand behind
- WILLOW VALLEY FARMS
Tons of sand, sediment and silt — some in dunes as high as 10 feet — were scattered across the eastern half to two-thirds of the state by the March flooding. In some areas, washed-out cornstalks are 3 to 4 feet deep. Tree limbs are in piles and topsoil was washed away. Read more
A King Lake family returns home in time for Christmas
- CHRIS MACHIAN/THE WORLD-HERALD
Trish and Salvador Duran hosted Christmas this year for their extended family, an act of hospitality that once seemed impossible after almost 4 feet of floodwater swept into their house in King Lake in March.
King Lake is an unincorporated area, a secluded neighborhood of 1 square mile that sits next to the Elkhorn River and not far from the Platte River, east of Valley and north of Waterloo. During historic flooding in March, the Elkhorn spilled out of its banks, sending water into almost all of the 111 homes in King Lake. Read more
Pacific Junction in Mills County, Iowa was hit hard when levees failed
- CHRIS MACHIAN/THE WORLD-HERALD
Pacific Junction, with a population of less than 500, was hit hard by levee failures in March that sent floodwaters streaming into town, filling every structure with feet of water. It wasn't until mid-April that the last batch of residents could return to their homes and businesses and start clearing out flood-soaked possessions. Read more
Flooding has taken a toll on Mills County, Iowa; even when it comes to caucusing
- CHRIS MACHIAN/THE WORLD-HERALD
Mills County Democrats worried all month whether many of the 470 former residents of this flooded town would attend a caucus Monday.
Last March, the Missouri River inundated all 210 homes and businesses here, and a caucus day drive through town showed the extent of damage 10 months later. Most local homes, storefronts and gathering spaces remain boarded up. Only about 20 households have moved back so far, officials say, and the only evidence of the presidential race was a single campaign sign in front of the rebuilt home of Rick and Cherry Parham. Read more
Flood of 2019: The aftermath and the recovery
As Nebraska and Iowa brace for the possibility of spring flooding here's a look back at the devastating floods of 2019.
Nebraska's losses from 2019 flooding, blizzard exceed $3.4 billion
- U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS
Nebraska’s disastrous weather in 2019 caused more than $3.4 billion in losses, according to a recently released federal report. Read more
The Spencer Dam collapse
- OFFICE OF GOV. PETE RICKETTS
A 92-year-old dam that collapsed March 14, 2019 amid had been classified by state inspectors last year as having a “significant” risk of causing damage.
A man who lived in a home below the dam, Kenny Angel, was swept away in the collapse and is presumed dead, and a quarter mile section of U.S. Highway 281 was washed out. Read more
Spencer Dam: What went wrong?
- WORLD-HERALD NEWS SERVICE
A four-member team from the Association of State Dam Safety Officials, a national nonprofit organization, will conduct an independent review of the Spencer dam.
The review will focus on what can be learned about the dam collapse to guide future dam construction, according to Lori Arthur, a spokeswoman for the Natural Resources Department. Read more
Offutt Air Force Base couldn't stop the floodwaters
- THE WORLD-HERALD
Even the U.S. Air Force couldn’t stop the Mighty Missouri River from flooding Offutt Air Force Base. Between March 16 and 17 sandbagging efforts were called off as flood waters began to rise. Read more
As the Platte River swelled into Fremont, the city became an island
- KENT SIEVERS/THE WORLD-HERALD
The Platte River swelled into Fremont, turning the city into an island.
Shelters in Fremont alone counted up to 1,100 people, with more evacuees expected from Snyder, Nebraska. And those numbers don’t capture the swaths of people riding out the flood in hotel rooms or crashing on the couches of family and friends.
Hundreds gather in Fremont for flood-risk briefing
- NANCY GAARDER/THE WORLD-HERALD
Hundreds of people filled Christensen Field Arena in Fremont to hear a National Weather Service update on this year’s flood risk Feb. 4.
The crowd received a nuanced, but somewhat reassuring, explanation from National Weather Service hydrologist Dave Pearson. Read more
Paradise Lakes community residents deal with mixed messages
- REECE RISTAU/THE WORLD-HERALD
Before the water even reached the community, Paradise Lake residents were sent mixed messages.
Law enforcement officials went door to door encouraging residents to evacuate, Paradise Lakes residents received a different message from their landlord: Your homes are safe. Read more
Paradise Lakes community's imminent demolition
- REECE RISTAU/THE WORLD-HERALD
The Bellevue City Council voted to condemn the community and told residents that they had until the end of July to take action on removing their homes. The remaining structures were expected to be razed by a city-hired company in early August.
Jim Ristow, Bellevue’s city administrator, said in August that officials are now taking a cautious approach moving forward because they don’t want taxpayers to be on the hook for the estimated $1.2 million needed for demolition.
Plattsmouth's water treatment plant back up and running
- CHRIS MACHIAN/THE WORLD-HERALD
Plattsmouth notched a major victory in September when its flood-battered water treatment plant got back up and running, ending months of water rationing.
But the city’s ongoing battle with the waters of the Platte River isn’t over. Read more
Winslow: a town considers relocating
- ELSIE STORMBERG/THE WORLD-HERALD
Winslow floods.
One in 1996 brought water inside town and into basements, but it was nothing like the surge of water that clobbered Winslow in mid-March, when historic flooding struck parts of central and eastern Nebraska.
Winslow: A town ready to relocate
- ELSIE STORMBERG/THE WORLD-HERALD
A group of state and federal officials who met in Winslow in January said plenty of hurdles stand in the village's way.
Those obstacles include state law, the likely millions of dollars needed to put in new streets and utilities in Winslow 2.0 and its dwindling population.
Camp Ashland hit hard by flooding
- BRENDAN SULLIVAN/WORLD-HERALD
On St. Patrick’s Day weekend 2019, a violent chute of water raged through a gash in the levee that for decades protected the Nebraska National Guard’s main training site from the Platte River. Floodwaters surged into classrooms, barracks and offices, wrecking furniture and tools and leaving a muddy watermark 5 feet high on inside walls.
Nebraska National Guard receives full funding for repairs to Camp Ashland
- BRENDAN SULLIVAN/WORLD-HERALD
The Nebraska National Guard learned in January that it will receive full funding, totaling $62.3 million, to fully rebuild the Camp Ashland training site, according to a statement released Wednesday by the state’s adjutant general, Maj. Gen. Daryl Bohac. Read more
Floods came to Nebraska farmland and left tons of sand behind
- WILLOW VALLEY FARMS
Tons of sand, sediment and silt — some in dunes as high as 10 feet — were scattered across the eastern half to two-thirds of the state by the March flooding. In some areas, washed-out cornstalks are 3 to 4 feet deep. Tree limbs are in piles and topsoil was washed away. Read more
A King Lake family returns home in time for Christmas
- CHRIS MACHIAN/THE WORLD-HERALD
Trish and Salvador Duran hosted Christmas this year for their extended family, an act of hospitality that once seemed impossible after almost 4 feet of floodwater swept into their house in King Lake in March.
King Lake is an unincorporated area, a secluded neighborhood of 1 square mile that sits next to the Elkhorn River and not far from the Platte River, east of Valley and north of Waterloo. During historic flooding in March, the Elkhorn spilled out of its banks, sending water into almost all of the 111 homes in King Lake. Read more
Pacific Junction in Mills County, Iowa was hit hard when levees failed
- CHRIS MACHIAN/THE WORLD-HERALD
Pacific Junction, with a population of less than 500, was hit hard by levee failures in March that sent floodwaters streaming into town, filling every structure with feet of water. It wasn't until mid-April that the last batch of residents could return to their homes and businesses and start clearing out flood-soaked possessions. Read more
Flooding has taken a toll on Mills County, Iowa; even when it comes to caucusing
- CHRIS MACHIAN/THE WORLD-HERALD
Mills County Democrats worried all month whether many of the 470 former residents of this flooded town would attend a caucus Monday.
Last March, the Missouri River inundated all 210 homes and businesses here, and a caucus day drive through town showed the extent of damage 10 months later. Most local homes, storefronts and gathering spaces remain boarded up. Only about 20 households have moved back so far, officials say, and the only evidence of the presidential race was a single campaign sign in front of the rebuilt home of Rick and Cherry Parham. Read more
Reach the writer at 402-473-7237 or lpilger@journalstar.com.
On Twitter @LJSpilger
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