After the flood

<p>Immediate flood damage destroyed homes, livestock, buildings, grain bins and equipment, leaving some fields ruined for 2019 at a minimum.</p>

<p>Farm Futures analysis of satellite imagery captured in the days after the historic event shows flooding affected at least 5.4 million acres, and likely more. Nearly 4,500 farms with 5 million crop acres are located in the area identified with direct flooding. In all, 32,800 farms are located near the flooded region.</p>

<p>The most widespread impacts came along the two major rivers in the region, the Platt in Nebraska, and the Missouri bordering Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas and South Dakota. But numerous tributaries also flooded. All but 12 counties in Nebraska were included in the major disaster declaration; 27 were bad enough to qualify for aid to individuals for temporary housing and home repairs. Governments in the other counties are eligible for grants to help cover cleanup on roads and damages to governmental assets. More counties were added since this FEMA map was published.</p>

<p>Official reports say more than 500 miles of levees on the Missouri, Platte and Elkhorn rivers, and their tributaries in Nebraska were damaged. In southeast Nebraska, the Missouri River is still high and will likely stay that way through well into summer. So, many fields along the river will remain underwater for a while.</p>

<p>In Iowa, seven counties qualified for individual assistance, with 49 other counties eligible for governmental help. A disaster declaration was also declared in Missouri, covering 13 counties. In addition to some along the Missouri River, the declaration covered counties in the Bootheel affected by flooding on the Mississippi.</p>

<p>More heavy rains in the two months after the big storm left some rivers still above flood stage and life on the Mississippi is far from normal. Traffic on the river system, the lifeline for moving grain to export markets and bringing fertilizer to growers continues to be felt.</p>

<p>The harbor at St. Louis is expected to reopen Wednesday, but the rest of the Upper Mississippi River may take another week or more to get moving again. Rains over the weekend are swelling the Illinois River, with major flood stages expected to stay in place into next week.</p>

<p>Along the Lower Mississippi River from the confluence with the Ohio to the Gulf, the number of tows barges can move has been sharply reduced. With the Delta inundated by rainfall, major flooding along the river near Baton Rouge has no end in sight as the Midwest and Plains drain.</p>