The Latest: Nebraska puts flood damage at more than $640 mln

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The Latest on flooding in the Midwest (all times local):

8:10 p.m.

Figures compiled by the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency put damage statewide from recent flooding at more than $640 million.

NEMA says on its website that current county estimates are of damage to public property of $553 million and private property of $89 million.

The hardest hit counties are Nance, with more than $230 million in damage, and Sarpy with more than $140 million.

Sarpy County is in the southern suburbs of Omaha, while Nance County is about 145 miles (233 kilometers) west of Omaha.

Nebraska’s governor earlier said the state suffered nearly $1.4 billion in estimated losses and damage, including $840 million in crop and cattle losses.

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4:55 p.m.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has added nine counties to the state flash flooding disaster proclamation, bringing the total to 52 out of Iowa’s 99 counties.

Much of the most serious flooding has been in western Iowa along the Missouri River. But several of the counties added Thursday are in eastern and southeast Iowa, where flooding also has occurred.

Flooding began in Iowa on March 13. The surge damaged hundreds of homes in the Midwest and has been blamed for at least three deaths — two in Nebraska and one in Iowa.

The water is receding in many Iowa locations but has inundated thousands of acres of land, destroyed stockpiled grain and killed livestock.

Reynolds is asking President Donald Trump for an expedited federal disaster declaration.

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4:40 p.m.

President Donald Trump has approved Nebraska’s request for federal disaster assistance in response to historic flooding throughout the state.

The declaration issued Thursday provides federal aid to supplement state, local and tribal recovery efforts. It also opens the door to grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs to help affected residents.

Gov. Pete Ricketts submitted the request to the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency on Tuesday. Ricketts says federal assistance will play a key role in the recovery effort.

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2:45 p.m.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has declared a state of emergency in response to flooding of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers.

The action on Thursday will allow state agencies to work directly with local authorities to respond to flooding that’s caused widespread property damage.

Parson, the state’s Emergency Management Agency director and other officials plan to meet with local leaders and survey flood damage Thursday.

The Missouri River swelled following heavy rains and snowmelt earlier this month. The flooding has damaged hundreds of homes in Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri, and has been blamed for at least three deaths. Authorities have rescued several people stranded by flooding in northwest Missouri.

The flooding has also taken a heavy toll on agriculture, inundating tens of thousands of acres, threatening stockpiled grain and killing livestock.

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1:20 p.m.

Another levee has breached as high water levels make their way down the flooding Missouri River.

Buchanan County, Missouri, Emergency Director Management Bill Brinton says an agriculture levee breached around 11 a.m. Thursday just across the river from Atchison, Kansas, where the river is expected to crest at record levels. The Missouri towns of Winthrop and Lewis and Clark Village are at risk of taking on water as the size of the breach grows. But Brinton says most of the 200 people who live in the area already left.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says the levee is one of about 20 that have breached in Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska. Crests in St. Joseph, Missouri, are expected to be the third-highest on record, although only about half a dozen homes in the city aren’t protected by a federal levee.

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9 a.m.

Authorities have rescued several people stranded by flooding in northwest Missouri.

The State Highway Patrol said in a tweet that water patrol troopers worked into the night Wednesday in and around Craig. Four people were pulled from homes, while three were rescued from a boat that ran out of gas.

The town of roughly 220 people began flooding after a levee breach, with several homes inundated with water. A local ethanol plant was also shut down amid the flooding.

The Missouri River swelled following heavy rains and snowmelt earlier this month. The flooding has damaged hundreds of homes in Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri, and been blamed for at least three deaths.

The flooding has also taken a heavy toll on agriculture, inundating tens of thousands of acres, threatening stockpiled grain and killing livestock.