Residents flooded out in Council Bluffs, Blair as river levels rise

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa. (WOWT) - The Missouri River is expected to crest in the Omaha area this weekend.

At River's Edge Park in Council Bluffs, Iowa, the high water lingered Friday afternoon, and there were plenty of sightseers there.

What they were witnessing was only a fraction of the impact in Pottawattamie County.

Emergency management told 6 News around half a dozen homes in the immediate Honey Creek area have been flooded, and so have around a dozen properties in the Goosehaven area—although most of those are not permanent homes.

At this time, director Douglas Reed said there's no indication when residents will be able to get back to their homes because the forecast keeps changing for when the river crests. After that, they'll have to wait for the water to drain out, and then assess the damage to roads.

Upstream in Blair, Nebraska, Washington County Emergency Manager Dan Douglas said it looks like the river's level is starting to plateau. From what he's seen so far, he thinks the levee will hold throughout this event.

However, he said that levee doesn't extend north of the Blair Bridge, so it doesn't protect property north of town.

That's where a lot of standing water was Friday afternoon, including around residential buildings.

Sandy and Les Mullen, to two residents in that area, told 6 News the water started coming up near their property Wednesday. Now, their home is completely surrounded by water. Four inches of it is in their basement, although the water's not as high as it was in 2011.

They said local authorities never told them to evacuate.

"In '19, we had contact with them," Les said. "But this time, they never came out and said anything to us. It was just, 'This is what the flood stage is going to be, and this is what it should to crest at."

"I'm not sure if anyone really knew the extent it was going to be," Sandy said. "It was kind of like, daily, the crest was changing. And until it actually stopped, I don't know if anyone knew."

The Mullens said this is the third flood they've lived through in their current home, and that it's getting too frequent.

They said they'll talk to insurance to see what their options are. If it's a matter of fixing something, they'll do it. If not, they may try to move.

Douglas said emergency management has closed down a few county roads north of town since Wednesday.