OMAHA, Neb. -- Local officials are watching a Nebraska river as flood waters swell.

Douglas County Chief Deputy Marty Bilek said the Elkhorn River is expected to crest 1 foot above flood stage on Saturday.

Bilek said deputies may have to evacuate some of the cabin communities along the Elkhorn, including King Lake.

KETV NewsWatcher Sydney Wieseler sent the photo at right of flooding near Waterloo on Friday.

"We had gotten a lot of rain last night. These pictures show how much we had," Wieseler said.

Outside of Wahoo, more than a foot of water covered some roads. Wahoo found itself nearly cut off by rising flood waters. Several homes along the Sand Creek flooded, and the waters aren't expected to crest until Friday night or Saturday.

Residents in Platte County also were chased from their homes by flood waters. Near Columbus, residents of Platte Center had returned to their homes on Friday afternoon after evacuating last evening due to flooding from Elm and Shell Creeks. Preliminary reports rom the state showed that 10 businesses and several houses have water damage.

U.S. Highway 81 south of Columbus remained closed due to flooding and local officials have asked that residents not sightsee so that area roads can be kept clear for emergency personnel.

The National Weather Service issued flood warnings for several rivers and creeks in eastern and south-central Nebraska Friday along the Platte, Big and Little Blue rivers, along with the Elkhorn.

The service said its radar indicated rainfall totals of more than 4 inches in some areas. The ground in many parts of central and eastern Nebraska already was saturated by recent storms.

In Dodge County, emergency management official George Wagner said the Elkhorn River is near flooding levels. He said that if the area has another night like it did Thursday, it could be in for real trouble.

Emergency officials in Nickerson and Winslow were told to prepare for the possibility of having to stack sandbags to protect the towns from water.