By Katie Knapp Schubert
Omaha, NE – Flood Warnings continue along the Elkhorn, Platte, and Missouri rivers, with more heavy rain in the forecast.
The National Weather Service says heavy rain is possible Saturday and Sunday nights. That could worsen flooding in some areas. The Salvation Army of Omaha and American Red Cross Heartland Chapter are on the scene in King Lake, Norfolk, and other areas.
Salvation Army spokeswoman Susan Eustice says floods are particularly dangerous because of a risk of disease. "That's what the Salvation Army is very, very concerned about is people's safety as far as the disease factors go," Eustice says. "So what we're doing is supplying mountains and mountains of cleanup kits, first we shipped them off to Norfolk yesterday morning, and we're collecting new cleaning supplies here to restore our supplies so we can help our folks in Douglas County.
Red Cross Heartland Chapter CEO Tina Labellarte says there are different challenges when responding to a flood. "The bad thing with floods is that it's icky, it's muddy, it's hot, it's humid, and it takes a long time before you can figure out what the damage is and feel like you're moving ahead. Tornadoes are horrible, they're devastating, but you get up the next day and you look at the window and you know what you're dealing with. And usually when there's flooding, it can keep going up, it can keep going down. So it's prolonged."
The National Weather Service says areas affected by flooding will likely flood again this weekend if more than an inch of rain falls.