Bellevue receiving $1.9 million grant to replace housing lost in 2019 flood
BELLEVUE, Neb. (WOWT) - Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen was in Bellevue on Friday to announce a grant that will help replace housing lost during major flooding in the area almost five years ago.
The state is providing $1.9 million to build 13 homes, mostly for those who had to leave Bellevue because of the flooding but now want to return. The homes are expected to run in the $200,000 range.
Pillen said, “It’s a big day for the state of Nebraska. It’s a big day for the city of Bellevue and the people of Bellevue.”
The homes will go up near 51st Street and Looking Glass Road, just west of Offutt Air Force Base. The area is near two neighborhoods that were declared uninhabitable after the flood: Green Acres and Paradise Lakes. Those neighborhoods have been cleaned up and mostly rebuilt, though more work needs to be done.
HEARTLAND FLOOD COVERAGE
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Bellevue Mayor Rusty Hike said he learned from the Federal Emergency Management Agency that rebuilding after a disaster takes time.
Hike said, “I remember one of the directors saying this will take five years for you to recover. Well, it’s five years later and we’re still recovering.”
Ramona Hamit’s home in Green Acres was destroyed. She has since settled into a new apartment but remembers the flood clearly.
Hamit said, “A policeman came down, told us we had to leave the premises. They gave us twenty minutes. He came back and said we need to leave. There’s a 10-foot wall of water coming down.”
Hamit said she is just now feeling resettled and hopes all the flood victims will soon feel the same way.
According to a release from the governor’s office, the grant is “among a series of awards” made available through the Nebraska Department of Economic Development helping with disaster recovery efforts in that area.
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