A bout of heavy rain and historic flash flooding across southeast Nebraska last week caused more than $13 million in damage in Douglas and Sarpy counties and left at least two dozen people displaced after their homes were deemed unlivable.
Omaha Mayor John Ewing said 22 manufactured homes and RVs at the Millard Woods Estates mobile home park were deemed substantially damaged. On Thursday, occupants were given a 10-day notice to vacate.
The damaged homes and RVs were located in a floodplain alongside West Papillion Creek.
“We are lucky that no one was seriously hurt, or worse, after escaping the West Papio Creek that jumped the bank,” Ewing said. “The creek rose over 22 feet in less than two hours in the dark. People escaped in neck-deep water. It was traumatic for them.”
Initial recovery efforts focused on the Karen addition neighborhood, which is located in South Omaha near 60th and L streets alongside the Little Papillion Creek. Omaha officials previously said first responders rescued more than 50 people and multiple pets in the area as floodwaters reached 6 to 8 feet.
“People were bringing flooded-out carpet, furniture, drywall and so-on,” said Jim Theiler, an assistant public works director who helped with debris removal in the Karen neighborhood. “It was a very different flood. We’ve never seen anything like this.”
Ewing said Thursday that two homes in the neighborhood were issued ‘Danger/Closed’ placards after they were found to be unsafe. Gas service was cut off to 123 homes in the area as the flood occurred, and Ewing said 73 homes remain without gas.
Ewing said Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen requested a federal disaster declaration to bring federal funds to the recovery effort, which has not yet been approved.
Flood resources can be found on the Mayor’s Office website. The Salvation Army is collecting monetary donations for homeowners’ repair costs at omahafloodrelief.com. Ewing also encouraged donations to The Furniture Project, which accepts gently-used furniture and distributes it to people for free.