2019 Flood Recovery: North Bend, NE (Part 1)

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“2019 Flood Recovery” is a new series on Rural Resurrection where we take a look at those rural communities hardest hit by the 2019 floods. Along with a review of how bad they were struck by the flood waters, we also take a look at the recovery efforts. In this posting of the series we look at North Bend, Nebraska.

Communities along the Missouri River, Mississippi River, and even the Niobrara River received a great deal of attention during the floods of 2019. But there were a number of communities sitting on the banks of other rivers and tributaries elsewhere in the Midwest that suffered that spring as well. North Bend is just one of these relatively overlooked communities. But their efforts to recover from the floods of 2019 should not be overlooked.

North Bend and the Platte River

In 1856 Scottish immigrants stopped at a bend in the Platte River in Nebraska for an impromptu Fourth of July celebration. The location was appealing to the immigrants and they settled there, at a town site that was then-called “Emerson”.

After a few name changes, the settlement was finally renamed to “North Bend” in 1867 when the Union Pacific railroad came through. The name was drawn from the fact that the location of the town site was near the northern-most bend of the Platte River as it traversed through Nebraska. This river would have its share of impacts to the town, beyond just its name.

The population would grow gradually to 1,010 in 1900 and topped out at 1,368 in 1980. Generally, the population of North Bend has stayed relatively stable. This, despite the brain drain affecting the rural Midwest and a few floods over the years.

Although being close to the Platt River had it’s advantages over the years, the community’s proximity to the Platte River hasn’t been without turmoil. In the spring of 1960 flood waters poured into town. Reports state that the entire town was impacted by four feet of water. According to Flood Hazard Mitigation Plan for Nebraska, 20 businesses and 56 homes were flooded.

With a keen eye towards protecting the community from future flooding, a diversion channel was constructed three miles west of town. For a number of years the diversion channel worked to route runoff from heavy rains to the Platte River. But the flooding of 2019 was different for North Bend, much like it was for many other unfortunate communities in the Midwest.

Diversion Channel Fails

Between the bomb cyclone and the heavy rains that came through, the Platte River Valley was inundated with and overwhelming amount of runoff. One the night of March 14th the onrushing waters quickly eroded the walls of the diversion channel, cutting a gash of 300 to 400 feet.

With the walls of the channel compromised, the water rolled in. At first the flood waters trickled in along Highway 30. It then spread along the swells that straddled each side of the streets in town. But this trickle soon rose to about knee height in those swales. Downtown businesses soon had 6-8″ of water flowing through them. Basements in the small town filled, ruining everything below the main floor.

The local nursing home had to be evacuated via airboat to ambulances that took the residents to receptive nursing homes in the nearby communities of Snyder and Dodge. It was a scene that had a profound impact on those witnessing the events happening. We all see videos of this happening in other communities impacted by spring floods or hurricanes. But to those witnessing it first-hand, the flooding and evacuation efforts were eye-opening.

Initial Response

Thankfully, a number of the houses on the north side of the community were constructed above flood stage and were spared from the muddy mess. With their houses safe, many of these residents were able to lend a hand to those who were impacted. Pretty soon an organized volunteer force went house to house to help clean out and clean up properties.

The high school also sat up out of the waters on the northern edge of the community. This made it an ideal staging base for activities. It became a hub for UPS and FedEx packages that couldn’t be delivered. Donated goods were also gathered at the “Donation Depot” in the school before they were dispersed to those in need. A number of meetings were also held within the confines as the community recovered. The facility was also an ideal location to feed volunteers and those in need. Donated food and water poured in to help the cause.

But Wait, There’s More!

Stay tuned for the second part of this story to be posted next Monday. We’ll look into the exemplary recovery efforts by North Bend’s leadership to recover from the floods.