page_title: 2011 Missouri River Flood
section_title: Nebraska
hierarchical_section_title: 2011 Missouri River Flood / Flood stages and effects by state / Nebraska
caption_attribution_description: English: Cooper Nuclear Power Plant on the edge of the 2011 Missouri River Floods on June 15, 2011
context_page_description: The 2011 Missouri River floods was a flooding event on the Missouri River in the United States. The flooding was triggered by record snowfall in the Rocky Mountains of Montana and Wyoming along with near-record spring rainfall in central and eastern Montana. All six major dams along the Missouri River released record amounts of water to prevent overflow which led to flooding threatening several towns and cities along the river from Montana to Missouri; in particular Bismarck, North Dakota; Pierre, South Dakota; Dakota Dunes, South Dakota; South Sioux City, Nebraska, Sioux City, Iowa; Omaha, Nebraska; Council Bluffs, Iowa; Saint Joseph, Missouri; Kansas City, Missouri; Jefferson City, Missouri, and St. Louis, Missouri. Many smaller towns were also at risk, suffering the same fate as the larger cities if not worse. According to the National Weather Service, in the second half of the month of May 2011, almost a year's worth of rain fell over the upper Missouri River basin. Extremely heavy rainfall in conjunction with an estimated 212 percent of normal snowpack in the Rocky Mountains contributed to this flooding event.
context_section_description: On June 2, Scouts Rest Ranch, Buffalo Bill's home near the Platte River in North Platte, closed because of flood fears. Exhibits were moved and berms were built around the buildings. On July 13, officials said the flooding was not as severe as had been expected.
  On June 4, Omaha city officials began releasing 6,000,000 US gallons (23,000 m³) of raw sewage per day into the river from its plant in South Omaha. The city generates about 86,000,000 US gallons (330,000 m³) a day, but only a small percentage is dumped into the river. The city of Omaha installed giant water pumps just east of Qwest Center Omaha to evacuate storm and sewer water directly into the Missouri River. By June 22, the city estimated 3 million dollars had been spent directly towards this flooding event.
  On June 9, Nebraska reported its first event-related fatality when a worker was killed while working on a levee at Fort Calhoun when his truck tipped over.
  The flooding affected the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Generating Station near Fort Calhoun, Nebraska, where the grounds of the plant were inundated by the flood, however, the plant had been in safe shutdown mode for refueling since April 2011. On June 6, the Federal Aviation Administration placed flight restrictions over the plant within a 2 miles (3.2 km) radius in which planes cannot fly lower than 3,500 feet (1,100 m) over the plant. On June 7, a fire broke out in the plant's switch gear room, prompting the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to declare an "Alert", which is level 2 on the NRC's emergency classification. Officials for the plant's owner, the Omaha Public Power District (OPPD), were confident that enough redundancies were in place to ensure adequate safety. The complex's elevation is 1,004-foot (306 m) elevation above sea level and as of June 19 the river had risen to 1,005.5 feet (306.5 m). Officials from OPPD stated the Calhoun plant could handle water up to 1,014 feet (309 m). An 8 feet (2.4 m) high and 2,000 feet (610 m) long rubber berm surrounded the reactor building. On June 23 a helicopter being used by OPPD to survey transmission lines made an unplanned landing 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south of the plant. The helicopter was photographed lying on its side but there were no reports of injuries. On June 26 the 2,000 feet (610 m) long rubber berm at the plant collapsed after it was punctured by a small earth mover ("Bobcat"). It was reported more than 2 feet (0.61 m) of water rushed in around buildings and electrical transformers. Backup generators were then used to ensure the facility maintained electrical power for cooling. NRC officials were at the plant at the time and NRC statements said the plant remains safe. NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko confirmed the plant's safety when he visited the plant on June 27. On June 29 officials planned to close the Blair Bridge north of the plant effectively making the river impossible to drive across for 100 miles (160 km) from Sioux City to Omaha—although officials said they hoped to erect flood barriers to reopen it.
  At Cooper Nuclear Station, Nebraska Public Power District's (NPPD) nuclear plant near Brownville, a "Notification of Unusual Event" (the least-serious of the NRC emergency classifications) was issued on June 19 due to the flooding. Similar to the situation at Fort Calhoun, the FAA placed a temporary no-fly zone within 2 miles (3.2 km) of the plant on June 7. Officials said, "There is no threat to plant employees or to the public; the plant continues to operate safely." In preparation for the flood more that 5,000 short tons (4,500,000 kg) of sand were bought in for barricades and Hesco barriers protecting facilities at the plant. The plant is 13 feet (4.0 m) above natural grade. On June 19, the river was reported 11.5 feet (3.5 m) above flood stage at Brownville. The Cooper plant sits at 903 feet (275 m) above sea level. The river hit 900.56 feet (274.49 m) on June 19 before dropping slightly to 900.4 feet (274.4 m) on June 20. At 9:47 a.m., July 12 the plant ended its emergency status because the river had dropped to 895.8 feet—3 feet lower than t
caption: Cooper Nuclear Power Station on the edge of the flood on June 15, 2011
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