Three dead, one missing in devastating floods across U.S. Midwest

At least one person was missing on Monday after devastating floods across the U.S. Midwestern states that killed three others and inflicted hundreds of millions of dollars in damage.

As floodwaters began to recede in much of the area inundated by the aftermath of a storm dubbed a "bomb cyclone," Nebraska officials were taking in the damage in a state where 64 of the 93 counties have declared emergencies.

"This is clearly the most widespread disaster we have had in our state's history in terms of sheer size," said Governor Pete Ricketts.

Damage to the state's livestock sector was estimated at about 400 million U.S. dollars, while the full impact on the spring planting season was not yet clear, said Steve Wellman, director of the Nebraska Department of Agriculture.

The "bomb cyclone," a powerful winter storm, hit the western Rocky Mountains and U.S. Central Plains last week, showering snow and freezing rains on millions of Americans in Iowa, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Minnesota and South Dakota.

The flooding would continue across parts of the region for the rest of the week, according to the National Weather Service.

The three known fatalities included an 80-year-old woman who perished at her Columbus, Nebraska, home, despite attempts to rescue her from rising floodwaters, said Colonel John Bolduc of the Nebraska State Patrol.

Bolduc said a young man from Norfolk, Nebraska, was swept away and killed after driving his car into moving water, and a Columbus man died when the tractor he was using to help free a stranded driver overturned.

One person was missing and presumed dead following the collapse of the Spencer Dam along Niobrara River in southwest Nebraska, Buldoc said.

Roofs of buildings are seen during the flooding of the Missouri River near Glenwood, Iowa, March 18, 2019. /VCG Photo

The Missouri River, the longest in North America, has flooded much of Nebraska between Omaha and Kansas City at the Missouri state line.

The river was expected to crest at 47.5 feet (14.48 meters) on Tuesday, breaking the previous record, set in 2011, by more than a foot, the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency said in the latest bulletin on its web page.

Residents in the towns of Bartlett and Thurman were said to evacuate on Sunday as levees were breached.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence would travel to Nebraska on Tuesday to survey the damage, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said on Twitter. Ricketts and Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds have both declared states of emergency.

(CGTN)