On June 18, 2011, shortly after publication of this article. the United State's Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced that President Obama has approved federal aid to the state of Nebraska beginning on June 17, 2011, and continuing as needed.

On June 17, 2011, Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman requested a disaster declaration from President Obama to "help save lives and protect property" as massive flooding continues to plague 18 counties along the Missouri and Platte River systems flowing through 380 miles of Nebraska cities and farmlands. The 18 counties in Nebraska listed in Governor Heineman's request include Garden, Lincoln, Morrill, and Scotts Bluff along the Platte River, and Boyd, Burt, Cass, Cedar, Dakota, Dixon, Douglas, Knox, Nemaha, Otoe, Richardson, Sarpy, Thurston, and Washington along the Missouri River.

Above-average snowmelt in Montana has combined with rainfalls ten times greater than average this spring and like a game of Dominoes, one by one, the dams and levees along the Missouri river are spilling their waters into farmlands, city streets, and homes in a large portion of Nebraska and numerous other states.