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City flood plan questioned as North Sioux City leaders race to recover

The collapsed North Sioux City rail bridge
C.J. Keene
/
SDPB
The collapsed North Sioux City rail bridge

Flood response has been a whirlwind in areas hit hardest by the flood. Currently, local city and county officials are stressing patience for residents as they work to reestablish normality.

As each day passes, more tasks need doing. That has meant long hours for flood response public information officer Andrew Nilges.

“We’re working as hard as we can, first and foremost, to keep people safe and keep people alive," Nilges said. "That’s the top priority right now. We know people want to get access to their homes, they want to shore them up, they want to ensure they can do work to prevent from mold – absolutely understand that. To try and do right by residents in the impacted area, we’re working a thousand miles an hour.”

Nilges said priority one is restoring critical infrastructure.

“Progress is being made on the west side of McCook Lake," Nilges said. "Utilities have been restored, we’re starting to restore utility services on the north end of Penrose (Drive), we’re starting to be able to get more people access to their homes.”

While city officials are stressing patience through the emergency, residents are also tangling with very real trauma, and questioning the community flood plan. That includes Julie Burhoop, who lost a property in the flood.

“The FEMA flood plan from back in 1971 said block the interstate, let some of that extra water divert into McCook Lake because that’s where it’s going to find its level," Burhoop said. "It felt like that plan stopped with blocking the interstate, and it felt like it needed to go a lot more steps past that.”

State leaders have defended the flood plan, saying due to the scope of the flood - water would have entered McCook Lake whether or not the plan was enacted.

At this time, officials say it’s still too early to place a timeframe on recovery.

C.J. Keene is a Rapid City-based journalist covering the legal system, education, and culture