A flood of phone calls is washing over the 2-1-1 hotline that’s run by the United Way of the Midlands. Spokeswoman Jamie Moore says the hotline, based in Omaha/Council Bluffs, continues seeing an uptick in calls as the Missouri River rises higher.
“The most frequent calls are from people wanting general information about the flooding situation,” Moore says. “The next most frequent question is, ‘Do you know when the flood’s going to come to my door?'”
Moore says the hotline’s operators have fielded more than 1,300 phone calls this month and they’re coming from all over. She says, “Approximately 39 counties throughout Nebraska, nine counties in Iowa and we’ve had approximately 58 calls that have come from other people across the country.” Moore says it’s a big spike versus a year ago.
“Our call volume is up about 25% for what it would normally be this time of year compared to last year,” she says. The 2-1-1 operators answer questions, provide information on the flooding and evacuation procedures, as well as help with rumor control and separating fact from fiction.