Cookie Posted June 4, 2011 Posted June 4, 2011 Well brothers and sisters of the EMS world, I will be among the many homeless so to speak in a very short time. It's not because of the ecomony, loss of a job, forecloseure or anything such as that. It is because of the man made disaster the Corps of Engineers is inflicting on the people who live and farm the Missouri River Valley. I will loose my home to the massive amount of water they are releasing from the dams on the upper Missouri River. We have no idea how much water will actually flood the area. The corps of engineers say up to ten feet from the Nebraska side to the bluffs on the Iowa side. That is a freaking lot of water. We are an angry bunch here. The people who live on the lakes and reservoirs want the levels kept full for their recreational use. The nature lovers pressured the Corps to manipulate the river flows for the pallid sturgeon to have hot sex and reproduce, simply because the dam fish is a leftover from the age of dinosaurs. The Corps created sand bars so the plover could build nests and lay their eggs, then raise the river level to wash away the sand bar. The impact will be tremendous. If we get as much as they predict, it will close Interstate 29, and commerce up and down this area from points north to Omaha, Council Bluffs, Kansas City, St. Louis etc. Never mind areas that have been continuiously inhabited since Lewis and Clark first surveyed it in the early 1800's. That accounts for nothing. Never mind that the agriculture industry will be affected, since the grain crops we farmers raise are in just about everything people eat and drink. All for the sake of a fish and bird to fornicate.
NYCEMS9115 Posted June 4, 2011 Posted June 4, 2011 It is horrible what the South of the US had to deal with. Nothing can be said to make this any better. I hope people will survive through this. I pray for you and all the people who have suffered. Hopefully, various Alphabet Organizations will help soon. I am truly sorry.... Good luck....
Richard B the EMT Posted June 4, 2011 Posted June 4, 2011 Hopefully, various Alphabet Organizations will help soon. I think the OP is BLAMING them for these problems.
paramedicmike Posted June 4, 2011 Posted June 4, 2011 Interesting. While I'm sorry to hear that you're facing some serious flooding, everything I'm reading references the record snow pack in the mountains combined with a whole lot of rain in a really short period of time. I've not seen anything about flooding certain areas because of a bird or a fish. What are you seeing that everyone else isn't? The Missouri River watershed is huge. The reservoirs built to contain a lot of this water can only hold so much. Combine the extra precipitation with the damage that could be created by not opening spillways and there are bigger problems for even more people than would exist if not for some of the spillway induced floods. Considering that there are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people already affected by this from Montana and the Dakotas down to Louisiana and it's a situation that just sucks for *everyone* involved. Hope it doesn't turn out to be as bad as you fear it will.
Cookie Posted June 5, 2011 Author Posted June 5, 2011 We do understand that there has been record amounts of snowfall and rain. This has been going on for a while, and the corps did notstart releasing water in anticipation of that, not this year nor in the past 4 to 5 years. It was held back with minor increase in flows. This time the flows are astronomical and if it gets as bad as they predict water will cover the land for quite a while. They plan to run increased flows till December. Which by mid june will be 150,000 gal cubic feet per second or higher. I know that Senator Grassley from Iowa and Johanns from Nebraska and Missouri's Govenor are not going to let this slid this time.
tniuqs Posted June 5, 2011 Posted June 5, 2011 <snip> Have you actually lost your home ? I know this will not help too much but from my experience tornadoes and hurricanes are far more destructive ... I hope no lives are lost. The diversions in Manitoba Canada did help, the flooding of those that were "to be sacrificed" was no where near a bad as initially predicted ... Ah Mother Nature in action and man trying to influence a woman. nuff said.
Dustdevil Posted June 5, 2011 Posted June 5, 2011 Oh man! I really hate to hear this. At least you have a little pre-warning, but that is no consolation. I don't know what to say besides I hope the best for you, my friend.
HERBIE1 Posted June 5, 2011 Posted June 5, 2011 Horrible situation, cookie. best of luck to you, and be safe. i cannot speak to the individual situation of the OP, but I did learn a bit about this problem on a radio show the other day. I thought it was an incredibly horrible thing for the powers that be to arbitrarily flood thousands of acres of farm land by breaking levees. Then I learned that these areas were bought up by the government years ago as essentially "easements" for this very purpose. They predicted these areas would eventually flood, given the right circumstances. They allowed the land to be used for farming- with the proviso that this exact scenario could happen some day. What I do not know is if people on these affected areas rent or lease their land from the government, what sort of retribution they may receive for losing their crops and homes, and what living arrangements are provided for them. From what I understand, after the floodwaters recede, the land may likely be unusable for a long time because of the toxins in the river water. best of luck to all involved.
Cookie Posted June 15, 2011 Author Posted June 15, 2011 I spent nearly two weeks packing up my household. Sorting what goes where and such. We bought a 35ft 5th Wheel trailer and currently located in a state park high up on the hills overlooking the Missouri River. Had to file for unemployment, changes of address, forwarding mail and a whole bunch of stuff that takes an inordinate amount of time. The levee broke near Hamburg Iowa south of us and thewater is slowly backing in. It also has to back uphill 6 ft to get to where I lived. I will try and keep folks updated when I can go into town and sit outside the library to access their wifi with my laptop. Just did not ever think I had worked all these years for a home and to wind up in a 35ft trailer for god knows how long! Guess I am adaptable and can get along with the minimun of what it takes to live day by day. Our ambulance and fire truck are located in a town about 5 miles from the campground and will have to respond to calls as need be. They have closed I 29 and in a couple of days close Highway 2 at Nebraska City. So if we need to do any business in that city we have to go north about 25 miles and back down the Nebraska side same distance. Oh what fun we are going to have. Cookie, currently a refugee and displaced person.
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