Midwest flooding costs skyrocket as Iowa announces $1.6 billion in damages

Flooding that has ravaged the Midwest since last week’s ’bomb cyclone’ storm has caused roughly $1.6 billion in damage in Iowa, Gov. Kim Reynolds said Friday, pushing total costs from the regional devastation beyond $3 billion.

Ms. Reynolds said she sent a letter asking President Trump to quickly issue a disaster declaration for 57 counties in Iowa where businesses, homes and levees have been severely impacted by flooding, including along the Missouri River. More counties may be added to the list.

“We are not only doing response, but we’ve shifted, we’re in recovery mode right now,” Ms. Reynolds told reporters Friday, according to the Des Moines Register.

She stressed Iowa’s urgent need for federal support because forecasts project even more flooding, adding that Vice President Mike Pence told her earlier this week while they toured the flood zone together that funds would come quickly.

“He was very positive about that,” she said.

The flooding across Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri — which has been fueled by rapid snowmelt — has been blamed for three deaths.

In recent weeks, the Hawkeye State has seen more than 1,200 homes destroyed or extensively damaged, while another 23,540 have at least minor damage, officials said. Flooding has caused an estimated $480 million in damage to homes, $300 million to businesses and $214 million to agricultural interests, Ms. Reynolds said in her letter to Mr. Trump.

In Nebraska, officials have reported an estimated $1.4 billion in damage. The state received Mr. Trump’s federal disaster assistance approval on Thursday.

Officials from other states affected by the flooding, including Missouri, Kansas, South Dakota, Minnesota and Illinois, have not yet released damage estimates.

AccuWeather reports Friday had rivers receding across parts of Nebraska, Wisconsin and Iowa but the Missouri River downstream was continuing to rise across northeastern Kansas and Missouri with water levels forecast to challenge the crest record of 31.63 feet at Atchison, Kansas, by the weekend.

About 1,200 residents of the Kansas town of Elwood were urged to leave, and the governor eased restrictions on large vehicles carrying relief supplies.

Across the river, parts of an industrial area in St. Joseph, Missouri were inundated with water, with the National Weather Service predicting the Missouri River would crest Friday at levels just short of those reached during historic 1993 flooding in the same area.

Missouri Department of Transportation officials added that 120 roads were closed because of flooding, including stretches of Interstate 29 and U.S. 61.

Officials also expressed concern over the Mississippi River, which is forecast to reach major flood stage in St. Paul, Minnesota, by the end of March, according to AccuWeather.

Last week’s bomb cyclone low-pressure storm dumped record-setting rains and unleashed fierce winds across the Great Plains, Midwest and lower Mississippi River basin.

• This article is based in part on wire service reports.