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The Latest: Vice President Pence says federal help on the way after flood

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OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Latest on flooding in the Midwest (all times local):

Vice President Mike Pence says the Trump administration will expedite presidential disaster declarations for Nebraska and Iowa.

Pence was in Omaha, Nebraska, on Tuesday to tour areas ravaged by the flood that has killed at least three people and forced hundreds of Midwesterners from their homes.

Pence says he spoke to the governors of both states shortly after landing in Omaha to assure them federal aid will soon be on the way.

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds were among a group of Republican leaders accompanying Pence during a brief tour of damaged areas. Others included U.S. Sens. Ben Sasse, of Nebraska, and Joni Ernst, of Iowa, as well as Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska.

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4:50 p.m.

A small Missouri town is under a mandatory evacuation order as the Missouri River threatens it.

The Holt County Sheriff’s Department says the evacuation was ordered Tuesday in Craig, a town of about 250 residents 110 miles (177 kilometers) north of Kansas City, Missouri.

The sheriff’s office says anyone choosing to stay must go to City Hall to provide their name and address in case they need to be rescued.

Snowmelt and heavy rain have sent the Missouri River pouring over and through levees in Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri. Craig residents join thousands of others who have been displaced by the flooding.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Vice President Mike Pence is on his way to view flooding caused by heavy rains and snowmelt that damaged hundreds of homes and inundated tens of thousands of acres with water.

Flooding is expected throughout the week in several states as high water levels flow down the Missouri River. Swollen rivers have already breached at least a dozen levees in Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The flooding, which started after a massive late-winter storm hit the Midwest last week, has been blamed for at least three deaths.

Pence is expected to arrive late Tuesday afternoon in Omaha, Nebraska, where the president of the Nebraska Farm Bureau estimates farm and ranch losses could reach $1 billion. Steve Nelson estimates $400 million in crop losses because of crops that will be planted late, if at all. He also estimates up to $500 million in livestock losses from the floods.

The Nebraska city of Fremont was walled off by flooding, but local residents got a lift from private pilots offering free flights to shuttle people to and from their hometown.

The Missouri River is forecast to crest Thursday morning at 11.6 feet above flood stage in St. Joseph, Missouri, the third highest on record. More than 100 roads are closed in the state, where the State Highway Patrol is watching from the air and has water patrol officers on standby to help.

There are widespread evacuations in two counties, including Holt County, where about 40,000 acres (16,188 hectares) and hundreds of homes have been flooded.

“This isn’t new to them,” Highway Patrol Sgt. Jake Angle said. “But it’s no less devastating.”

River flooding has also surrounded a northern Illinois neighborhood with water, prompting residents to escape in boats. People living in the Illinois village of Roscoe say children have walked through high floodwaters or kayaked to catch school buses amid flooding along the Rock River.

Flooding along rivers in western Michigan also has damaged dozens of homes and businesses.

President Donald Trump tweeted Monday that he was staying in close contact with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem about the flooding in those states.

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KANSAS CITY (AP) — The Latest on flooding in the Midwest (all times local):

Vice President Mike Pence will travel to Nebraska to survey damage from flooding in the Midwest.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders tweeted that President Donald Trump requested Pence go Tuesday to the Midwest to see the damage.

Sanders says Pence will be joined by Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds.

The tweet did not say where in Nebraska Pence would go.

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3:30 p.m.

North Dakota’s largest city has declared an emergency and Fargo Mayor Tim Mahoney is asking residents to help fill 1 million sandbags as the city prepares for major Red River flooding.

The National Weather Service says “significant” snowmelt flooding is likely this spring in the Red River Valley after last week’s massive late-winter storm in the Midwest. The chance the river will reach major flood stage in Fargo has increased from 50 percent to 90 percent.

The neighboring cities of Fargo and Moorhead, Minnesota, experienced a record flood 10 years ago. The two cities have implemented several measures such as home buyouts and levees since then.

But Mahoney says there are still areas that could be vulnerable. Sandbag-filling operations begin March 26.

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3:10 p.m.

An Illinois town is bracing for potentially the worst flooding it has seen in at least a half-century.

Freeport City Manager Lowell Crow says the town of 25,000 residents west of Rockford could see an all-time record flood along the Pecatonica River. At best, the water level will get to its highest level in 50 years.

Several Illinois towns face flooding from the late-winter deluge that has ravaged several Midwestern states. National Weather Service readings show major flooding along the Pecatonica River at Shirland, Illinois, and along the Rock River in Moline and the Rockford area.

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2:45 p.m.

The late-winter flood has compromised about 200 miles of Missouri River levees in four Midwestern states.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says levees that have been topped or breached in Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and Kansas contributed to the flooding that has forced hundreds of people from their homes. Three deaths have been blamed on floodwaters, and two men in Nebraska have been missing since Thursday.

The National Weather Service says river levels have topped off along the Missouri River at Omaha, Nebraska, as well as at several Missouri River tributaries in Nebraska.

High flows and water levels remain throughout the river basin south of Sioux City, Iowa.

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