Las Vegas NowPresident Bush Declares Nevada Flood Zone Disaster Area
President Bush has declared part of northern Nevada a national disaster area. This means that victims of the flooding there are able to get federal assistance.
Flood waters continue to recede in Fernley following a weekend canal rupture that flooded hundreds of homes. Residents are now waiting to hear about federal relief. More than 400 families are looking for help from the Red Cross.
Nevada U.S. Senator Harry Reid and officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, spent Monday morning touring a flood-ravaged Fernley neighborhood and accessing the damage.
"The water has receded. There are still cars that are buried in mud and the water is still up above the tires," said Sen. Harry Reid, (D) Nevada, after spending the morning in a helicopter over Fernley.
Hundreds of homes were flooded with up to 8 feet of water when a levee along the Truckee Canal ruptured early Saturday.
"It was just a huge like river cutting through the alfalfa field and rushing onto the property. So my backyard is completely wiped out -- my side yard is gone," said one victim.
About 1,500 people were evacuated. There were no deaths or injuries. Most homeowners say they don't have flood insurance and some worry because they suffered major losses when the ruptured canal sent freezing walls of water into hundreds of homes in the area stranding nearly 3,500 residents.
Red Cross volunteers from Las Vegas are in the area to help the victims. They got the call early Saturday morning and only had a few hours to pack a few things and head north to see what they could do to help.
Saturday afternoon, Governor Jim Gibbons declared a state of emergency in Lyon County. The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Guard are working to distribute much needed supplies to flood victims.
"It's sad. A lot of people have lost their homes and their dogs and their cats. It's just really sad right now," said another victim.
For now, authorities are investigating what caused this levee to break. They say there is the possibility that a rodent may have dug a hole in the earth near the levee weakening it. The area also had been pounded by heavy rainfall just Friday night, which didn't help matters.
Red Cross volunteers from Las Vegas can only be up there for three weeks before they are rotated out. At this point, they're not sure how long they will be needed.
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