Water covering 32 river miles, eleven miles wide at its widest, 165,000 acres or 125,000 football fields. This is Holt County.

In a situation report June 29th, Holt County Clerk Kathy Kunkle tells us there is floodwater from bluff to bluff throughout a large part of the basin, from northwest of Corning to the mouth of Kimsey Creek southwest of Forest City. The water covers 165,000 acres and is eleven miles wide at its widest point. They have named the flood “Corpstrina.”

Here is that situation report:

The Missouri River at Rulo, Nebraska has dropped a foot from the record high of 27.26 feet recorded on Monday, June 27. The base has settled at around 26 feet, and observers do not expect it to drop below that stage for the next two months.

Corning is still under water from the Mill Creek levee breach. Kunkle says the Missouri River current moved a channel marker, with its weight intact, in Corning. The water moved it through the breach.

Everything northwest of the Big Tarkio River levee is submerged with water on both sides of I-29 in the area.

Floodwaters are starting to encroach on the city’s dirt levees around the town of Craig, which is surrounded on three sides by water: west, south and east. Water is against the levee near the Craig R-3 School and football field.

The Little Tarkio Creek levee forms the eastern border for floodwaters from Craig south to 118 Highway at Bigelow. All of 111 Highway from Corning to Craig to Big Lake is under water or impassable. Bigelow is seeing back-up floodwater from south fill ditches and fields around town. Floodwaters are backing through the Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge east of Bigelow to the north side of 118 Highway. Ironwood road is closed from 118 Highway to 59 Highway with water over the roadway.

Sandbagging was undertaken and continues around the water treatment facility at Mound City.

South of Bigelow water is inundating all crop fields, homes and hunting cabins toward Fortescue as the Little Tarkio Creek has overtopped P Highway several times north of the railroad tracks. That water has mingled with the northern flow coming under 159 Highway, filling the entire basin from Napier to Fortescue.

All areas west of the Little Tarkio Creek channel are filled with deep floodwaters in the Big Lake area toward Rulo, Nebraska. The railroad tracks are covered with water from Fortescue west and 159 Highway is barely visible from aerial photos.

South of 159 Highway, numerous breaks on the Little Tarkio Creek eastern levee and continuing south down the Missouri River levee (Levee District #9) have filled the entire region with heavy water. Additional breaks and overtoppage on Squaw Creek have added floodwaters to the east side of the Forest City basin. A breach on the Cannon Drainage Ditch allowed the remaining agricultural acreage to fill with floodwaters to the western border of Kimsey Creek, just at the west edge of Forest City. Floodwaters have closed 111 Highway south of Napier to Forest City as they crossed the roadway to the base of the bluff north of Exide.

Forest City continues to actively sandbag. The water treatment facility, wells and sewage lift stations have been fortified and sandbags stockpiled to fight off water from the west. Holt Road 290 is closed at the concrete county bridge over Kimsey Creek at the northwest edge of town. Floodwaters create a sea from that location west to White Cloud, Kansas, six miles away.

South of Forest City the federal levee is experiencing heavy sand boils. Sandbagging has been ongoing in that area for the last few days in a quarter mile section near the mouth of Kimsey Creek, eastern side.

The last levee in Holt County’s Forbes bottom is Levee District #7. This federal levee has reported two to three feet of freeboard remaining. Board members are monitoring the levee and have plans to lay base rock on the top of the levee at the onset of a flood fight.

At this time evacuation orders stand for Corning, Craig, Bigelow, Fortescue, Big Lake and the rural areas around each community. No evacuation orders are in effect at this time for Forest City or Mound City.

Kunkle says about 631 people are out of their homes. The Red Cross Shelter is in stand-down mode as the two citizens previously in residence have been relocated to housing.

Long-term housing needs are emerging as permanent residents face the reality that the floodwater will remain for months and their homes will not be accessible.

The National Guard continues to support Holt County in this flood fight, with five check points stationed throughout the county. They also conduct roving patrols and reconnaissance teams helping with security and intelligence gathering.

For more information, contact the Holt County Emergency Operations Center, during office hours, at 660-446-3303 or 3304.