Omaha metro residents weather flood as Missouri crests

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - The National Weather Service said the Missouri River crested at just under 33 feet Saturday morning.

So far, the Pottawattamie County Emergency Management Agency reported no updates in flood-related efforts since then.

They told 6 News their overnight crews encouraged several people to get out of the floodwater near the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge.

They weren’t alone.

Council Bluffs Police said they received a report of three people paddling upstream in a canoe beneath the pedestrian bridge.

Elsewhere, after this week’s high winds, the Omaha and Lincoln affiliates of the nonprofit group Rapid Response cut down and cleared out tree limbs for residents in the Florence neighborhood.

“They were a true blessing,” Lita Craddick said. “I was so amazed. I was so uplifted and I was overwhelmed almost.”

Craddick said she was faced with having to get estimates and not knowing what homeowner’s insurance would cover.

That was before Rapid Response swooped in.

“Such a blessing,” Craddick said. “I was just totally in shock. I’m like, ‘No way.’”

Rapid Response teams are still helping clean up debris from April’s tornadoes, and they’re planning to help out with flood cleanup after the waters go down.

But it was important for them to help Florence homeowners Saturday.

“We talk to so many people, have so much work to do, so many jobs to do,” said Beth Sorensen, director of the Lincoln affiliate. “So we have to kind of prioritize which ones we’re going to do first. And in this neighborhood, with all these limbs on roofs and things, this was the priority today.”

Rapid Response said it’s badly in need of volunteers, including experienced chainsaw and skid-steer loader operators.

If you would like to help out, click here.

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