Thousands of people across the midwest have had to evacuate their homes due to record snowfall and heavy amounts of rainfall that led to a flooding crisis. According to the Washington Post in Nebraska alone the cost of damage caused by the flooding is up to $1.4 billion. This is Nebraska’s worst flood in 50 years.

Although one third of Nebraska is dealing with this flooding, almost no one outside of the midwest knows what is going on. The flooding in Nebraska has had little to no attention in national news. This should be a national emergency since people are predicting the floods aren’t going to get better over the next few weeks.

More people need to know about the Nebraska flooding because it also affects their lives. The midwest contains a huge portion of the farming industry in the United States. According to Climate Hubs, there is over 127 million acres of agricultural land in the midwest. Due to all of the flooding, farmers have lost a lot of their livestock and crops. They can distribute the same amount of produce that they normally could this time of the year. The amount of produce will decrease and the prices will increase. Everyone across the U.S. will have to deal with this issue.

The location of the floods is most likely the reason it hasn’t gotten the attention they need. When people think of the United States they don’t automatically think of the Midwest. If states like Texas or California were having the same issues with the flood, they would be on the news every single day for weeks.   

Nebraska has created many donation groups, but that can only go so far. People all over the United States should know about the issues that the Midwest is having. Hundreds of people have been rescued, but two people have lost their lives to the flooding. During Hurricane Harvey, 135,000 homes were destroyed in the floods according to World Vision. The Nebraska Humane Society helped support those affected by gathering leashes and crates to help save stray animals. Many places in Nebraska also hosted blood drives to get blood to donate to those who were hurt in the rough conditions of the hurricane. Nebraska understands how much support helps those in need during natural disasters.

Many students and staff from our school were affected by the recent flooding. Some people were not able to go home for five days because the waters created a barricade in their neighborhood. Others lost their homes in the floods. Kids were even separated from their parents.

On Saturday, Mar. 23, Justin Timberlake had a concert in Omaha, Neb. While he was performing one of his songs, he talked about how he had reached a record with his ticket sales. He then proceeded to say that he knew that there were many victims of the local floods. Timberlake decided to donate a portion of his ticket sales to those in need. This was a relief to many when they knew that a celebrity had known about the recent flooding and wanted to help.

The flooding in Nebraska isn’t getting the attention it needs because it isn’t hitting highly populated areas. It shouldn’t matter whether or not the flooding is hitting a densely populated area. There are still many people who are losing their homes, and there isn’t anything they can do. Rescue groups and donations help the victims tremendously.

National attention can help the Midwest in so many ways. More people will donate their time and money that will help victims get out off the horrible conditions the floods have caused. Also, the money can go to helping rebuild homes and businesses that were destroyed. Nebraska and the Midwest need the attention because it is a smaller area with less people than the coastal regions.

Nebraska had helped gather many donations to the victims of Hurricane Harvey. The support and donations that people give to those in need should be reciprocated when the situation is reversed. There are still many people who even before the floods were struggling that need all the support they can get. With the national attention people will be able to learn about these people who are struggling and find ways to help them.