Nebraska nuclear power plant beset by floodwaters

By Michael Avok

OMAHA, Neb., June 28 (Reuters) - Missouri River floodwaters lapped at a nuclear power plant north of Omaha, Nebraska on Tuesday and have cracked more defenses downstream after weeks of sustained pressure on levees running hundreds of miles.

At the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power Station, which has been shut since April for maintenance, officials expect to replace by the end of next week an inflatable barrier that deflated on Sunday sending a rush of water toward the plant.

The breach temporarily interrupted some electrical power but emergency generators restored power later that day and there was no threat to sensitive facilities.

Although the plant is surrounded by water, its flood defenses have nearly eight feet (2.4 meters) of space from current river levels, officials have said.

In Minot, North Dakota's fourth-largest city, the roughly 12,000 displaced residents watched Souris River flooding slowly recede and began to look toward recovery.

Up and down the Missouri River from North Dakota to Missouri, residents said they were just plain tired -- tired of sandbags, tired of water, tired of worrying.

"We've just got water. And, it's not going away," said Tony Mangan, 50, whose family has lived in the South Dakota river town and capital of Pierre, since 1987. "You sense there is a weariness out there. People are tired."

Record water releases to relieve pressure on six reservoirs from Montana through South Dakota have strained flood defenses and the Missouri River continued to breach levees along the northern Missouri and Kansas border. (Additional reporting by Kevin Murphy in Kansas City, Missouri, and David Bailey in Minneapolis)