A steel building in Niobrara, Nebraska, that was crushed by thick blocks of ice pushed by an 11-foot wall of water that crashed into the town.
PAUL HAMMEL/THE WORLD-HERALD
The Country Cafe in Niobrara was nearly destroyed by chunks of ice that pummeled the town after the Spencer Dam collapsed, sending a wall of water downstream.
NIOBRARA, Neb. — Surrounded by thick slabs of ice stacked up to 10 feet high, Nathan Sucha stretched a measuring tape Sunday over a gaping hole in the concrete-block wall of the Country Cafe.
He delivered perhaps the only good news his mother, Laura, had heard since raging floodwaters, mixed with ice cakes as big as king-size beds, bulldozed through her restaurant on Thursday.
“Mom, I think we can fix it,” he said.
Laura Sucha wasn’t yet ready to buy it. She was still in shock over the ice-filled wall of water that rampaged through the west end of this town after the Thursday morning collapse of the Spencer Dam, 35 miles upstream on the Niobrara River.
The devastation in this recreation-based community of 370 was a testament to the pummeling power of Mother Nature when huge chunks of winter ice are propelled by an estimated 11-foot wall of water. In that way, it was a different scene than many others across flood-ravaged Nebraska.
“It just looked like the end of the world coming,” said Mayor Jody Stark, who saw the water coming on Thursday.
There wasn’t anything Sucha or her family could have done — they were trapped by floodwaters where they live in Verdigre, Nebraska, and unable to get to Niobrara.
A huge backhoe, driven by Sucha’s other son, Nolan, was needed to clear a path through the ice blocks so they could reach the restaurant.
“It’s total devastation. The ice just destroyed everything,” Sucha said as she waded in rubber boots through the mud and water left behind in a popular eatery she’s owned since 2015.
The chunks of ice, some up to 2 feet thick, acted like a roiling plow at Niobrara, where the Niobrara River dumps into the Missouri. The ice battered down walls and crumpled metal Quonset huts like cellophane bags. The town golf course looked like an Arctic ice field, with jumbled blocks of ice intermixed with wooden debris of buildings, tires and barrels, and cedar trees torn away from banks of the river.
The so-called Mormon Bridge just west of town was blown away, tearing out the tourist-based town’s access to nearby Niobrara State Park and a cabin development along the Missouri called Lazy River Acres.
“The busy season starts in two weeks,” said Sucha, referring to waves of fishermen and turkey hunters. “And I’m not going to be open.”
People watch from the Huron Street bridge as water from Willow Creek flows just under a bridge in Missouri Valley, Iowa, on Wednesday, March 13, 2019.
Standing water from melting snow and rain reflects the evening sky as a truck travels north on Highway 275 near Fremont, Nebraska, on Wednesday, March 13, 2019.
Crews from Ashland, Mead and Yutan Fire and Rescue assist with evacuations in Ashland. Sixteen temporary shelters in Nebraska opened to take in such evacuees.
Nebraska State Patrol Trooper Keith Bell surveys the water levels as floodwaters continue to rise near Salt Creek in Ashland, Nebraska, on March 14, 2019.
Sean Hanger, of Ashland, and his son Aiden navigate the floodwaters that continue to rise near Jack Anderson Ball Park in Ashland, Nebraska, on March 14, 2019.
Both Iowa and Nebraska were hit hard by flooding earlier this year and are in need of the disaster aid. Bell Creek, on the east side of Arlington, Nebraska, flooded parts of the town in March 2019.
Blake Japp pulls his remote-controlled truck out of the water while playing in the shallow floodwaters of Bell Creek on Thursday, March 14, 2019, in Arlington, Nebraska.
Brent Schwindt of Norfolk, Nebraska, holds his son Paul, 4 months, as his wife, Lacey Hansen, sleeps on a blow up mattress at Lutheran High Northeast on Thursday, March 14, 2019, in Norfolk. The school was being used as an evacuation shelter for people affected by flooding in the area.
Motorists are forced to turn around as West Maple Road west of 216th Street is closed as floodwaters rise over the road near the Elkhorn River in Elkhorn, Nebraska, Friday, March 15, 2019.
A crowd of people gather to overlook the floodwaters that continue to rise along the Missouri River in Plattsmouth, Nebraska, on Friday, March 15, 2019.
Adam Jensen races to load his Lincoln Navigator outside his home near Mayne and Condron Streets in Valley, Nebraska. With three kids and a dog they plan to head to a hotel in Iowa. Valley residents were ordered to evacuate because of flooding on Friday, March 15, 2019.
Paul Schmidt walks with his children Calvin and Avery while looking back at floodwaters over Broad Street in Fremont Nebraska on Friday, March 15, 2019.
At sunrise, Norfolk City Engineer Steven Rames inspects the levy next to Northeast Community College on Friday, March 15, 2019, in Norfolk, Nebraska. Rames said that the levy was stable and that the water had dropped 8 to 9 feet.
Volunteers race to stave off floodwater by sandbagging along Old U.S. Highway 275 between Morningside Road and Downing Street in Fremont, Nebraska, on Saturday, March 16, 2019.
Anthony Thomson, left, and Melody Walton make their way out of the flooded blocks near 1st and M Streets after a visit to Melody's house where they loaded up supplies in Fremont, Nebraska on Saturday, March 16, 2019.
A crowd gathers to watch residents make their way in and out of the flooded blocks near 1st and M Streets in Fremont, Nebraska on Saturday, March 16, 2019.
Bonnie Warner, Barb Pierce, Katie Cameron and Amanda Pierce cheer for a convoy of Hy-Vee trucks escorted by the Nebraska State Patrol and the Army National on Sunday, March 17, 2019. The trucks delivered much needed supplies to the city that was surrounded by floodwaters.
Hy-Vee staff rush to offload a convoy of trucks that were escorted by the Nebraska State Patrol and the Army National Guard Sunday, March 17, 2019 in Fremont, Neb. The trucks delivered much needed supplies to the city that was surrounded by floodwaters.
People gather in downtown Hamburg, Iowa to watch the floodwaters creep closer to a barrier built on Sunday, March 17, 2019. The levee protecting the town from the floodwaters of the Missouri River broke, flooding the town.
Paul and Margaret Vorthmann's flood damaged home in shown in Missouri Valley, Iowa on Monday March 19, 2019. The family began the process to salvage items from the home and clean.
Amelia Fritz, left, hugs her daughter Heather Rockwell in Glenwood, Iowa on Monday, March 18, 2019. They were evacuated from Pacific Junction, Iowa after floodwaters hit the town. They are part of 15 relatives all staying in the same house or in a camper in the front driveway.
Residents such as Andrew Bauer and Shawn Shonerd of the Bellwood Lakes neighborhood are among some who can only access their home by boat on Monday March 18, 2019.
Shawn Shonerd, left, and his partner Andrew Bauer, who live in Bellwood Lakes are surrounded by large chunks of ice Monday March 18, 2019 after the historic flooding along the Platte River days prior in Bellwood, Nebraska.
Two vehicles on the property of Duane Graybill are in disarray in Bellwood, Nebraska, Monday, March 18 after flooding hit the Bellwood Lakes neighborhood.
Kelcie Keeling holds a Nebraska necklace. Keeling has led the effort of donations that are available for those in need at the Butler County Event Center in David City, Nebraska, Monday, March 18, 2019.
A Canada goose flies over Matthew J. Placzek's "Monument to Labor" sculpture as floodwaters from the Missouri River begin to recede on the Omaha riverfront on Tuesday, March 19, 2019.
Donated bottled water is donated at the North Bend Central Junior/Senior High School Tuesday, March 19, 2019 as residents deal with the aftermath of major flooding which occurred days earlier in North Bend, Nebraska.
Treyton Gubser, left, and his uncle Daniel Gubser paddle using shovels through the floodwaters after they rescued Daniel's kid's cat, Bob in Hamburg, Iowa on Wednesday, March 20, 2019.
Lori Steinauer walks through a patio area of her flooded cabin located in the Willow Point neighborhood in Ashland, Nebraska, Thursday, March 21, 2019.
Photos: Major flooding hit Nebraska and Iowa towns in March 2019
People watch from the Huron Street bridge as water from Willow Creek flows just under a bridge in Missouri Valley, Iowa, on Wednesday, March 13, 2019.
CHRIS MACHIAN, THE WORLD-HERALD
The junction of Highway 275 and Highway 91 is flooded on Wednesday, March 13, 2019, just north of Scribner, Nebraska.
RYAN SODERLIN, THE WORLD-HERALD
Cody Stump walks through a flooded street in Hooper, Nebraska, on Wednesday, March 13, 2019.
RYAN SODERLIN, THE WORLD-HERALD
High water rolls through a street in Hooper, Nebraska, on Wednesday, March 13, 2019.
RYAN SODERLIN, THE WORLD-HERALD
High water floods a street in Hooper, Nebraska, near a trailer park on March 13, 2019.
RYAN SODERLIN, THE WORLD-HERALD
High water floods a street in Hooper, Nebraska, near an old bank building on Wednesday, March 13, 2019.
RYAN SODERLIN, THE WORLD-HERALD
Standing water from melting snow and rain reflects the evening sky as a truck travels north on Highway 275 near Fremont, Nebraska, on Wednesday, March 13, 2019.
RYAN SODERLIN, THE WORLD-HERALD
Crews from the Ashland, Mead and Yutan Fire and Rescue assist with evacuating the final residents in Ashland, Nebraska, on Thursday, March 14, 2019.
BRENDAN SULLIVAN, THE WORLD-HERAL
Crews from Ashland, Mead and Yutan Fire and Rescue assist with evacuations in Ashland. Sixteen temporary shelters in Nebraska opened to take in such evacuees.
BRENDAN SULLIVAN, THE WORLD-HERALD
Nebraska State Patrol Trooper Keith Bell surveys the water levels as floodwaters continue to rise near Salt Creek in Ashland, Nebraska, on March 14, 2019.
BRENDAN SULLIVAN, THE WORLD-HERALD
Sean Hanger, of Ashland, and his son Aiden navigate the floodwaters that continue to rise near Jack Anderson Ball Park in Ashland, Nebraska, on March 14, 2019.
BRENDAN SULLIVAN, THE WORLD-HERAL
Floodwaters continue to rise near Furnas and North 15th Streets in Ashland, Nebraska, on March 14, 2019.
BRENDAN SULLIVAN, THE WORLD-HERALD
Residents are rescued from a flooded area near Missouri Valley, Iowa, on March 14, 2019.
JOE DEJKA, THE WORLD-HERALD
Jenna Muntz stands behind a row of sandbags as she takes a photo of the rising floodwaters in Cedar Creek, Nebraska, on Thursday, March 14, 2019.
CHRIS MACHIAN, THE WORLD-HERALD
A semitrailer truck that tried crossing Bell Creek in Arlington, Nebraska, was swept off the road by fast moving floodwaters.
RYAN SODERLIN/THE WORLD-HERALD
Both Iowa and Nebraska were hit hard by flooding earlier this year and are in need of the disaster aid. Bell Creek, on the east side of Arlington, Nebraska, flooded parts of the town in March 2019.
RYAN SODERLIN, THE WORLD-HERALD
Blake Japp pulls his remote-controlled truck out of the water while playing in the shallow floodwaters of Bell Creek on Thursday, March 14, 2019, in Arlington, Nebraska.
RYAN SODERLIN, THE WORLD-HERALD
Bell Creek, on the east side of Arlington, Nebraska, flooded parts of the town in March 2019.
RYAN SODERLIN, THE WORLD-HERALD
People navigate over giant chunks of ice that were thrown by floodwaters near River Resort in Yutan, Nebraska, on March 14, 2019.
JEFF BUNDY, THE WORLD-HERALD
A flooded home near Mosquito Creek in Council Bluffs on Thursday, March 14, 2019.
KENT SIEVERS, THE WORLD-HERALD
Two corn cobs float in floodwaters near Mosquito Creek in Council Bluffs, Iowa on Thursday, March 14, 2019.
KENT SIEVERS/THE WORLD-HERALD
A Blackhawk helicopter hovers over Waterloo on Friday, March 15, 2019.
CHRIS MACHIAN, THE WORLD-HERALD
A cow makes his way through floodwaters near Columbus, Nebraska, on Friday, March 15, 2019.
CHRIS MACHIAN, THE WORLD-HERALD
A house is surrounded by floodwaters near Waterloo, Nebraska, on Friday, March 15, 2019.
CHRIS MACHIAN, THE WORLD-HERALD
Floodwaters run through the town of Rogers, Nebraska, on Friday, March 15, 2019.
CHRIS MACHIAN, THE WORLD-HERALD
Highway 75's northbound lane is closed because of flooding near Merritt's Beach RV Park on Friday, March 15, 2019.
CHRIS MACHIAN, THE WORLD-HERALD
Cars drive drive across a flooded Platte River on Highway 50 just north of Louisville on Friday, March 15.
CHRIS MACHIAN/THE WORLD-HERALD
Water covers a road near Valley, Nebraska, on Friday, March 15, 2019.
CHRIS MACHIAN, THE WORLD-HERALD
Brent Schwindt of Norfolk, Nebraska, holds his son Paul, 4 months, as his wife, Lacey Hansen, sleeps on a blow up mattress at Lutheran High Northeast on Thursday, March 14, 2019, in Norfolk. The school was being used as an evacuation shelter for people affected by flooding in the area.
RYAN SODERLIN, THE WORLD-HERALD
Motorists are forced to turn around as West Maple Road west of 216th Street is closed as floodwaters rise over the road near the Elkhorn River in Elkhorn, Nebraska, Friday, March 15, 2019.
BRENDAN SULLIVAN/THE WORLD-HERAL
A crowd of people gather to overlook the floodwaters that continue to rise along the Missouri River in Plattsmouth, Nebraska, on Friday, March 15, 2019.
BRENDAN SULLIVAN, THE WORLD-HERALD
Homes, vehicles and RV's are submerged in floodwaters that continue to rise along the Missouri River in Plattsmouth, Nebraska, Friday, March 15, 2019.
BRENDAN SULLIVAN/THE WORLD-HERAL
Adam Jensen races to load his Lincoln Navigator outside his home near Mayne and Condron Streets in Valley, Nebraska. With three kids and a dog they plan to head to a hotel in Iowa. Valley residents were ordered to evacuate because of flooding on Friday, March 15, 2019.
KENT SIEVERS/THE WORLD-HERALD
CJ Cunningham holds his German shorthaired pointer Cazz after they were rescued from the King Lake area on Friday, March 15, 2019.
KENT SIEVERS/THE WORLD-HERALD
Water flows over Highway 30 between Fremont and Arlington, Nebraska on March 15.
KENT SIEVERS/THE WORLD-HERALD
People keep an eye on floodwaters along Highway 30 between Fremont and Arlington, Nebraska on Friday, March 15, 2019.
KENT SIEVERS/THE WORLD-HERALD
Horses belonging to Faye Etherington are brought into town through floodwaters on Highway 77 in Fremont, Nebraska, on Friday, March 15, 2019.
KENT SIEVERS, THE WORLD-HERALD
Paul Schmidt walks with his children Calvin and Avery while looking back at floodwaters over Broad Street in Fremont Nebraska on Friday, March 15, 2019.
KENT SIEVERS/THE WORLD-HERALD
At sunrise, Norfolk City Engineer Steven Rames inspects the levy next to Northeast Community College on Friday, March 15, 2019, in Norfolk, Nebraska. Rames said that the levy was stable and that the water had dropped 8 to 9 feet.
RYAN SODERLIN, THE WORLD-HERALD
A pickup is stranded on the east side of Norfolk, Nebraska, in floodwaters on Friday, March 15, 2019.
RYAN SODERLIN/THE WORLD-HERALD
Sarpy County Sheriff’s Deputy Darin Morrissey rides an ATV through floodwaters in Hawaiian Village on March 16.
CHRIS MACHIAN, THE WORLD-HERALD
Ron Eklund looks east at a flooded Main Street on the eastern edge of Plattsmouth on March 16.
CHRIS MACHIAN, THE WORLD-HERALD
Bo Staskiewicz helps out as volunteers filled sandbags on Main Street in Plattsmouth, Nebraska, on Saturday, March 16, 2019.
CHRIS MACHIAN, THE WORLD-HERALD
Volunteers race to stave off floodwater by sandbagging along Old U.S. Highway 275 between Morningside Road and Downing Street in Fremont, Nebraska, on Saturday, March 16, 2019.
KENT SIEVERS, THE WORLD-HERALD
Volunteers racing to stave off floodwaters take part in a sandbagging effort along Old U.S. Highway 275 in Fremont on March 16, 2019.
KENT SIEVERS, THE WORLD-HERALD
The Elkhorn River covers West Dodge Road on Sunday, March 17, 2019.
JEFF BUNDY, THE WORLD-HERALD
Floodwaters cover Valley, Nebraska, on Sunday, March 17, 2019.
JEFF BUNDY, THE WORLD-HERALD
Water runs through a breached levee near Ashland, Nebraska, on Sunday, March 17, 2019.
JEFF BUNDY, THE WORLD-HERALD
Luke Thomas and Air Force Tech Sgt. Vanessa Vidaurre look at a flooded portion of Offutt Air Force Base on Sunday, March 17, 2019.
Z LONG, THE WORLD-HERALD
Nearly 3,000 feet of Offutt Air Force Base's runway is now covered by the Missouri River on Sunday March 17, 2019.
Z LONG, THE WORLD-HERALD
Anthony Thomson, left, and Melody Walton make their way out of the flooded blocks near 1st and M Streets after a visit to Melody's house where they loaded up supplies in Fremont, Nebraska on Saturday, March 16, 2019.
KENT SIEVERS/THE WORLD-HERALD
A crowd gathers to watch residents make their way in and out of the flooded blocks near 1st and M Streets in Fremont, Nebraska on Saturday, March 16, 2019.
KENT SIEVERS/THE WORLD-HERALD
Floodwaters destroyed County Road 18 at U.S. Highway 30 near Fremont, Nebraska on Saturday, March 16, 2019.
KENT SIEVERS/THE WORLD-HERALD
Bonnie Warner, Barb Pierce, Katie Cameron and Amanda Pierce cheer for a convoy of Hy-Vee trucks escorted by the Nebraska State Patrol and the Army National on Sunday, March 17, 2019. The trucks delivered much needed supplies to the city that was surrounded by floodwaters.
KENT SIEVERS/THE WORLD-HERALD
Hy-Vee staff rush to offload a convoy of trucks that were escorted by the Nebraska State Patrol and the Army National Guard Sunday, March 17, 2019 in Fremont, Neb. The trucks delivered much needed supplies to the city that was surrounded by floodwaters.
KENT SIEVERS/THE WORLD-HERALD
People in Hamburg, Iowa, fill sandbags and build a water retaining wall as they defend the town from floodwaters on Sunday, March 17, 2019.
RYAN SODERLIN/THE WORLD-HERALD
Interstate 29 west on Hamburg, Iowa, is submerged by floodwaters from the Missouri River on Sunday, March 17, 2019.
RYAN SODERLIN/THE WORLD-HERALD
Bradley Perry and other help to fill sandbags as the city of Hamburg, Iowa, fights to keep their town from flooding on Sunday, March 17, 2019.
RYAN SODERLIN/THE WORLD-HERALD
Water runs over the levee protecting Hamburg, Iowa, on Sunday, March 17, 2019.
RYAN SODERLIN/THE WORLD-HERALD
Lana Brandt of Hamburg, Iowa checks out the rising water on the south side of the city on Sunday, March 17, 2019.
RYAN SODERLIN/THE WORLD-HERALD
The sun begins to set on the Missouri River floodwaters west of Hamburg, Iowa, on Sunday, March 17, 2019.
RYAN SODERLIN/THE WORLD-HERALD
Businesses on the southwest side of Hamburg, Iowa, were flooded on Sunday, March 17, 2019.
RYAN SODERLIN/THE WORLD-HERALD
People gather in downtown Hamburg, Iowa to watch the floodwaters creep closer to a barrier built on Sunday, March 17, 2019. The levee protecting the town from the floodwaters of the Missouri River broke, flooding the town.
RYAN SODERLIN/THE WORLD-HERALD
Floodwaters from the Elkhorn River begin to recede, revealing a heavily damaged west Dodge road on Monday March 18, 2019.
JEFF BUNDY
Paul and Margaret Vorthmann's flood damaged home in shown in Missouri Valley, Iowa on Monday March 19, 2019. The family began the process to salvage items from the home and clean.
MEGAN MCGILL/THE WORLD-HERALD
Amelia Fritz, left, hugs her daughter Heather Rockwell in Glenwood, Iowa on Monday, March 18, 2019. They were evacuated from Pacific Junction, Iowa after floodwaters hit the town. They are part of 15 relatives all staying in the same house or in a camper in the front driveway.
CHRIS MACHIAN/THE WORLD-HERALD
Residents such as Andrew Bauer and Shawn Shonerd of the Bellwood Lakes neighborhood are among some who can only access their home by boat on Monday March 18, 2019.
BRENDAN SULLIVAN/THE WORLD-HERAL
Shawn Shonerd, left, and his partner Andrew Bauer, who live in Bellwood Lakes are surrounded by large chunks of ice Monday March 18, 2019 after the historic flooding along the Platte River days prior in Bellwood, Nebraska.
BRENDAN SULLIVAN/THE WORLD-HERAL
Debris floats on the surface of water in the Bellwood Lakes neighborhood in Bellwood, Nebraska Monday, March 18, 2019.
BRENDAN SULLIVAN/THE WORLD-HERAL
Two vehicles on the property of Duane Graybill are in disarray in Bellwood, Nebraska, Monday, March 18 after flooding hit the Bellwood Lakes neighborhood.
BRENDAN SULLIVAN/THE WORLD-HERAL
Kelcie Keeling holds a Nebraska necklace. Keeling has led the effort of donations that are available for those in need at the Butler County Event Center in David City, Nebraska, Monday, March 18, 2019.
BRENDAN SULLIVAN/THE WORLD-HERAL
Tom Strigenzs talks about the four feet of floodwater that occupies the basement of his Hawaiian Village home on Tuesday, March 19, 2019.
CHRIS MACHIAN/THE WORLD-HERALD
A Canada goose flies over Matthew J. Placzek's "Monument to Labor" sculpture as floodwaters from the Missouri River begin to recede on the Omaha riverfront on Tuesday, March 19, 2019.
CHRIS MACHIAN/THE WORLD-HERALD
Jake Nebuda removes damaged items from the flooded basement of his brother Joe Nebuda's home in North Bend, Nebraska, Tuesday, March 19, 2019.
BRENDAN SULLIVAN/THE WORLD-HERAL
Donated bottled water is donated at the North Bend Central Junior/Senior High School Tuesday, March 19, 2019 as residents deal with the aftermath of major flooding which occurred days earlier in North Bend, Nebraska.
BRENDAN SULLIVAN/THE WORLD-HERAL
Samantha Wentz walks through floodwaters near 1st Street and Pierce Street in Fremont, Nebraska, Tuesday, March 19, 2019.
BRENDAN SULLIVAN/THE WORLD-HERAL
A vehicle is stuck in floodwaters near 1st Street and Pierce Street in Fremont, Nebraska, Tuesday, March 19, 2019.
BRENDAN SULLIVAN/THE WORLD-HERAL
Melissa Lenagh waits for the owners of the pets she rescued from floodwaters to show up in Hamburg, Iowa on Wednesday, March 20, 2019.
CHRIS MACHIAN/THE WORLD-HERALD
Treyton Gubser, left, and his uncle Daniel Gubser paddle using shovels through the floodwaters after they rescued Daniel's kid's cat, Bob in Hamburg, Iowa on Wednesday, March 20, 2019.
CHRIS MACHIAN/THE WORLD-HERALD
Bob the cat looks on from a basket in a boat after being rescued from floodwaters in Hamburg, Iowa on Wednesday, March 20, 2019.
CHRIS MACHIAN/THE WORLD-HERALD
People on a boat navigate through floodwaters that cover Washington Street in Hamburg, Iowa on Wednesday, March 20, 2019.
CHRIS MACHIAN/THE WORLD-HERALD
The cab of a pickup truck peeks out of floodwaters in Hamburg, Iowa on Wednesday, March 20, 2019.
CHRIS MACHIAN/THE WORLD-HERALD
Lori Steinauer walks through the kitchen of her flooded cabin in the Willow Point neighborhood near Ashland, Nebraska, Thursday, March 21, 2019.
BRENDAN SULLIVAN/THE WORLD-HERAL
Dave Ziola stands near a flooded home in the Willow Point neighborhood of Ashland, Nebraska Thursday, March 21, 2019.
BRENDAN SULLIVAN/THE WORLD-HERAL
Lori Steinauer walks through a patio area of her flooded cabin located in the Willow Point neighborhood in Ashland, Nebraska, Thursday, March 21, 2019.
BRENDAN SULLIVAN/THE WORLD-HERAL
An angel statuary sits in a flooded yard in the Hanson Lakes areas in Bellevue on Friday, March 22, 2019.
KENT SIEVERS/THE WORLD-HERALD
Steve O'Donnell works to open the skylight of his parent's flooded house in the Hanson Lakes areas in Bellevue on Friday March 22, 2019.
KENT SIEVERS/THE WORLD-HERALD
Steve O'Donnell exits his parent's flooded in the Hanson's Lake areas in Bellevue Friday, March 22, 2019.
KENT SIEVERS/THE WORLD-HERALD
A basketball hoop is tipped over into floodwaters in the Hanson Lakes area near Bellevue, Neb. Friday, March 22, 2019.
KENT SIEVERS/THE WORLD-HERALD
Tim Bazar of Bellevue stands on the back deck of his flooded house on Chalet Drive in the Hanson's Lake area in Bellevue on Friday, March 22, 2019.
KENT SIEVERS/THE WORLD-HERALD
The main focus in town on Sunday was restoring a supply of drinking water. The ice floes tore away at city water mains, which must now be repaired, then repressurized and sanitized. It could take two weeks, the mayor said.
It was uncertain when school would reopen because access for about three-fourths of Niobrara students is blocked by flood damage to the west and east.
The wall of ice also destroyed a gas station, a machine shop and a State Department of Transportation garage along the west side of town.
“There were actually two buildings there,” Stark said, pointing to a snowplow surrounded by blocks of ice. “They’re completely gone.”
Gov. Pete Ricketts, Sen. Ben Sasse and the local State Sen. Tim Gregert joined state emergency response officials in touring Niobrara and nearby Boyd County on Saturday.
Crews were still searching the Niobrara River on Sunday for the body of a man believed to have been swept away when the 91-year-old Spencer Dam collapsed. A walk-in cooler from a bar made out of hay bales that was destroyed below the dam was found about 4 miles downriver.
“You try to remember what it was like (below the dam) because there’s nothing there,” said Doug Fox, the emergency management director for five counties in northeast Nebraska.
The dam collapse washed away a portion of U.S. Highway 281 at the Niobrara River bridge south of Spencer, and ice chunks closed another bridge south of Butte. That, coupled with the loss of the bridge at Niobrara, left Boyd County virtually cut off from the rest of Nebraska, except for a small county bridge at Lynch and a long detour around the west end of the county.
It hearkened back to the days when many considered Boyd County a part of South Dakota before the state line between Nebraska and South Dakota was drawn in 1895.
“Maybe they’ll adopt us,” Kyle Krotter, a member of the Spencer Village Board, said of South Dakota.
Krotter had bigger worries on Sunday. The dam collapse wiped out a water main that ran beneath the Niobrara and supplied the Spencer and Lynch areas. It might be two to four weeks before a new main is bored beneath the river.
Meanwhile, Krotter and others were organizing shipments and donations of bottled water for drinking and water deliveries by tankers so people could flush toilets. (One shipment of bottled water arrived safely on Sunday.) Delivering water to livestock was also a concern.
Families were evacuated from 65 homes because of flooding from the Ponca Creek in Lynch earlier in the week. Deliveries of food and other goods to that community and Spencer must now divert through South Dakota, from the north. Krotter, who runs a hardware store/lumber yard, said he’s trying to figure out how to get a truckload of supplies that was left in Norfolk because bridges to Boyd County were out.
“The cleanup phase, the restoration phase, it’s going to take a long, long time,” said State Sen. Gregert, a retired National Guard helicopter pilot who flew rescue missions after Hurricane Katrina.
Down at the Country Cafe, Sucha said there wasn’t much to salvage. The antique tables and chairs she had carefully restored were ruined. Other antiques were swept away in the storage shed.
“We have open-air seating now,” she said with dark humor, gazing out one of the ice-gouged holes in the side of the cafe.
Sucha said that when she and her partner, Diana Eckman, bought the cafe four years ago, they were told that they didn’t need flood insurance because the building sat outside the flood plain. A heavy rain and thick winter ice pushed by a wall of water from a collapsed dam changed that.
“We had one heck of a business,” she said. “But I don’t know what to do next. I absolutely don’t know.”
Want to help?: A “Niobrara Relief Fund” has been established for donations at the Farmers and Merchants State Bank, Box 229, Niobrara, NE 68760
The Country Cafe in Niobrara was nearly destroyed by chunks of ice that pummeled the town after the Spencer Dam collapsed, sending a wall of water downstream.