Saturday, Governor Jim Pillen joined state and local leaders in providing an update on operations in the aftermath of the state’s most recent severe weather.
Primarily the eastern side of Nebraska is bracing a combination of snow and ice covered streets and subzero temperatures and wind-chills, creating a situation that Gov. Pillen described as critical. To ensure the availability of resources, the Governor issued a state of emergency declaration.
“This event has had widespread impacts. State and local law enforcement are responding to calls from stranded drivers and road workers are doing their best to reopen closed highways and local roads,” said Gov. Pillen. “This is also having a significant impact on our farmers and ranchers, who are trying to keep animals warm and fed and get their products delivered.”
Noting the hazardous conditions, Erv Portis, assistant director with the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said the goal is to get impacted areas returned to normal as soon as possible.
“Gov. Pillen’s disaster declaration is appreciated,” said Portis. “It authorizes NEMA and our partners in the State Emergency Operations Center to begin identifying resources as we work with the Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT) for repositioning of critical resources to affected counties in an effort to minimize the existing significant hazards of food security and life safety across Nebraska.”
Officials with NDOT stressed the need for drivers to stay off the road, not only for their own benefit, but also for the safety of road crews operating snowplows and blowers.
“This is a sustained operation to clear off Nebraska’s roads, meaning this will take longer than we’re normally used to,” said Vicki Kramer, director for NDOT. “Stay home and off the roads, so we can get this done as safely and efficiently as possible.”
Kramer said 1,700 miles of roads were closed or impassable this weekend. That included 54 closed highways. 375 plows patrolled the states affected areas. Colonel John Bolduc of the Nebraska State Patrol (NSP) mentioned that in the past week, state troopers had responded to nearly 1,000 calls for stranded motorists.
NDA is gathering information from producers to help prioritize livestock assistance requirements. Producers can reach out to NDA at 800-831-0550 for more information.