Staying #NebraskaStrong After the Flood and Blizzard of 2019

It's been a month since the raging floods and bitter blizzards struck Nebraska and the Midwest. It honestly doesn't seem like it was that long ago! I still can't wrap my head around how half of our state was buried in snow and the other half was being flooded, but this is Nebraska and anything can happen!

Meteorologists say that between March 12-14th extreme weather struck the Midwest which resulted in a lot of snow and rain to Nebraska. It was at that time that almost every waterway in Nebraska was being watched and every area was under some sort of flood or blizzard warning. On March 16th Governor Rickett's declared Nebraska in a state of emergency. On March 19th, Vice President Mike Pence traveled to Nebraska to meet with Governor Rickett's and survey the damage caused by the flooding. By then the water had receded a little in some areas, but most roads were still inaccessible, making travel in Nebraska very difficult.

The damage caused by the flooding has reached over $1.4 billion dollars. Over 2,000 homes, $489 million in road repairs, $400 million in cow-calf losses, $440 million in crop losses, 41 businesses, and 16 highway bridges were completely destroyed. Many communities in eastern Nebraska were hit with water, including my hometown of North Bend. This is the most widespread natural disaster that Nebraska has ever seen.

Like I said before, my hometown of North Bend was hit with the floods. Prior to the flooding, we were in a flood watch and both the North Bend and Morse Bluff fire departments had been watching the Platte River bridge and conducting rescues for those that live near the river. North Bend was put under an evacuation when the flood waters hit on March 15th. Nobody could go in or out of North Bend for a few days and it was even longer before anyone could drink the water or use the sewer system. We were out of school for a total of two weeks before during and after the flood.

But even through these difficult times, there are good things that came out of this. It was during this time that I realized what it means to live to serve and how lucky we are to live in a place like Nebraska where everyone is always willing to lend a hand. Honestly, I think we learned more in those two weeks that we were out of school than we have the entire school year. Usually the kids in my generation are said to be lazy, have no respect, and only care about themselves. I certainly did not think that when me and my fellow classmates were doing everything we could while we were out of school! While this flood may have damaged our town, it also showed us what it means to be a part of a community and to care for other people! Every day that we were out of school I was in North Bend volunteering and helping people clean up their homes since my house wasn't directly affected. In total there were about seventy community members and a lot of my classmates who all took time out of their days to help out everyone in need. We even had groups of people come from other towns and other states volunteer their time! More recently there was a big group of farmers and FFA members from Ohio that came to help with farm work and donated a lot of veterinary supplies!

Our school was the "volunteer headquarters". It was where people checked in to request volunteers to come help them or for volunteers to find somewhere to help. It was also where the fire departments were stationed and where people could get the supplies they needed. Our school gym was turned into a "Donation Depot" where all donations were being collected and dispersed. The amount of donations we received were overwhelmingly heartwarming! When I say our gym was full, I mean it was packed from wall to wall! We had food, water, diapers, hygiene items, cleaning supplies, pet food, plus an entire list of things. We received donations from area towns, Kansas, Texas, Ohio, the American Red Cross, and many other places. While it has been a long and terrible month for Nebraska, I think it has made us all see the very best in people in the very worst of times!