Insane Flooding in Nebraska and Iowa

[Bill Pemberton]

Appreciate the kind emails and calls some of you made asking about the monumental flooding in Nebraska and Iowa. The floods of 2011 were beyond imagination, but they were confined primarily to the Missouri river basin. This time around the heavy snows , ice blockage, followed by rapid warming and rain , caused many of the tributaries of the Missouri to flood, and the results are far worse than even the events of 8 years ago. Raceway Park of the Midlands ( about 20 miles South of the Omaha/Council Bluffs metro ) where quite a few of our members have raced is under 10 foot of water , with only the roof of the Clubhouse and the upper seats of the grandstand visible. Over 14 major bridges were washed out and some areas have yet to crest. The Woodhouse Chevy Dealership in Missouri Valley , Iowa is the only one of our 18 Stores under a threat , and so far it is weathering the deluge. Mark Jorgensen and I are far from the rivers and doing well, and so far it appears our Crossroad VOA members are okay , though not sure our President ( Cheryl ) has definitively heard from everyone? No worries about the Viper Rendezvous , as one guy asked about the effects there, but Hastings is over 2 hours from Omaha, and though there is some flooding in nearby communities , the track there is high and dry ( talked to the track manager this am on another subject ). Again , thanks for those of you worried about members and your concern is warmly noted.
Sincerely,
Bill Pemberton

[Patentlaw]

Hope you continue to do well. Not much coverage in Texas of your troubles. More coverage of the Kardashians and other silly stuff. Houston has had almost two months of no sunshine. Super odd for down here as well.
Plaw

[Fatboy 18]

No mention of anything here in the UK? We normally get coverage of Hurricanes in Florida or California mountain fires.

Hope you are OK and the cars are being looked after.

[Special Ed]

Well if it’s not anti Thrump it doesn’t make the news anymore. The heartland is being hammered but they don’t bite blue so the media doesn’t care.

[capevettes]

I have been watching the coverage on the Weather Channel. It's very bad. My thoughts are with you guys in harm's way.

[2016ACR]

Unbelievable! Spent seven years at Offutt. Both of my squadron buildings are under water!
Wish the best to everyone affected!

[1BADV10]

We traveled over to Omaha last weekend for the World of Wheels event. The Missouri river was flooded and on the rise. Our motel was close to the river and cell phones started receiving emergency messages at night of flash flood warnings. We ended up cutting our trip short and got the H out of there! Our trip home was detoured several times from water over roads. We live a few hours east of Omaha and we are experiencing major flooding also, now that the frost is going out of the ground things our getting better but that water goes to tiles that feed the rivers and increases flooding down stream.....bad deal. Prayers to those affected by this devastating flood event.

[swexlin]

I've thought about you and your family Bill. Glad to hear you are safe.

[Bill Pemberton]

So far , it appears the Club Members are all okay, but then if someone is affected they may not be able to get in contact with us. This is the worst natural disaster in Nebraska history, with likely a billion in agricultural damage. Keep in mind this is the #1 Beef State in the US, and #2 for Corn production , so this will be felt Nationwide. When you hear that 14 major bridges were washed away you understand a bit of the severe damage, but now some of the highways are appearing as some areas drain a bit. As the news reports, the pictures look more like earthquake damage , not flood issues, and the shock of so many highways with breaches , and concrete piled up really appears like one viewing a California/ Alaska quake. Funny, since the State has a population of only 1.8 million , there is just not the press coverage one gets from major Metro areas, but then one has to also view the speed of this calamity , not the prolonged catastrophes like the fires in the West.

Either way , Woodhouse Auto Family was lucky , as all 18 of our Stores are okay, including the one in the actual Missouri Valley Basin ( our Chevy/Buick Store is in Missouri Valley , Iowa ) , though the nearby town has all of it's low lying areas under flood waters.

Thanks for everyone's concerns , and if we hear of any of the Crossroad Club's members in need we will report that.

[Patentlaw]

We, in Houston, know all too much about flooding. And the Federal Govt did nothing. You saw all of the news about the "Cajun Navy" performing rescues. All private citizens. Water creates havoc and destroys everything. It also reapportions property values. Areas that used to be desired are now abandoned. Nobody wants to touch them. Continued luck to you. Took us years to get out from the floods.