Nebraska Prairie Museum closed due to flood damage

Courtesy of our News Partners at KHGI:

HOLDREGE, Neb. — After recent floods caused damage to many communities in Nebraska, a museum in Holdrege has been forced to temporarily close its facility until further notice.

The Phelps County Historical Society announced an update of a temporary close of the Nebraska Prairie Museum, due to the recent floods that damaged the main building.

A decision to hire DriExpress, a national company that specializes in flood cleanup, was discussed at an emergency meeting that was held Thursday, July 11, 2019. DryExpress loaded up a semitrailer of four large commercial dryers.

According to museum officials, the main building suffered damage from about two inches in the front on the east side, to about four inches in the back on the far west side.

The Schrock Agricultural Hall, including the Military and Camp Atlanta POW displays were not damaged by any water during the disaster, while the rest of the museum did not hold up nearly as well.

Immediate efforts of pumping off standing water were made by Sargent Irrigation, followed by the help of K&D Electric in making the building safe for workers. Also, the the museum staff assisted in cleanup efforts to get things done quickly.

Executive Director, Micah Huyser, gathered the volunteers that came from all over to help in pushing water out, and getting it off the floor.

Officials said the artifacts, mannequins and displays were moved off the wet floors and 40,000 square feet of old wet carpet was pulled up by over 40 volunteers who showed up to help on Saturday.

Additionally, fans and dehumidifiers were donated to help dry things up in order to prevent possible mold.

As far as the latest conditions of the Museum, humidity will be monitored to get it down to a normal range possibly by the next few days.

Museum officials are expecting repairs to be expensive and said they will be closed while they work on dehumidifying and sanitizing the building.