“It’s devastating to the 55th Wing, devastating to the installation and the facilities,” said U.S. Rep Don Bacon, R-Neb., a retired Air Force officer who commanded the 55th Wing in 2011 and 2012. “They just took a punch to the gut. But the 55th Wing will get back on its feet.”

While Sunday yielded small indicators of improvement in some pockets of flooding along the Platte and Elkhorn Rivers, the devastation at Offutt was a signal of tougher times along the Missouri. Engineers and emergency personnel fixed their eyes on Offutt, Bellevue and points south as water levels rose along the river. A levee near Hamburg, Iowa, was topped as a World-Herald journalist looked on.

Shortly before 10 p.m., a mandatory evacuation order was issued for Pacific Junction, Iowa.

At Offutt, the 55th Wing managed to fly out nine of the 33 reconnaissance jets based there Saturday evening, according to 55th Wing Commander Col. Michael Manion’s official Facebook post. Some were flown to the Lincoln Airport, where the Nebraska Air National Guard has a base.

Five planes were still parked on the northwest taxiway and the apron Sunday morning. Blake said it’s not clear yet when or whether they’ll be moved. No planes have been damaged in the floods.