Calls to the United Way of the Midlands' 211 Call Center include many southwest Iowans looking for help on flood-related problems, a United Way report shows.

The 211 call center is a clearinghouse for community service information for people in Nebraska and southwest Iowa.

Overall call volume for June was up 77 percent from last year because of all the flood calls, said Kathy O'Hara, a United Way spokeswoman.

From June 1 to July 5, the call center received 2,656 flood-related calls. Almost 60 percent of those calls - 1,558 - came from Pottawattamie County.

Other metro-area counties also logged plenty of flood-related calls: In Nebraska, there were 482 in Douglas County, 138 in Sarpy and 25 in Washington; in Iowa, 82 in Mills, 47 in Harrison and 39 in Fremont.

The Iowa Concern Hotline also has received a number of flood-related calls, said coordinator Margaret Van Ginkel.

Some 211 callers, presumably displaced from their homes, have asked for help with essentials like food, water and shelter, O'Hara said.

"Wherever they've made arrangements to be, whether or not it's in a shelter, they still have basic needs," she said.

Iowa Concern callers have asked questions on such topics as evacuation and financial hardship, Van Ginkel said.

"Now, it's kind of stress-related," she said. "We're hearing a little more about the financial stress - and 'how long is this going to last?'"

Iowa Concern has stress counselors available to talk to people and refers them to mental health or pastoral counselors, if needed, she said.

The toll-free Iowa Concern Hotline is available 24 hours a day at 800-447-1985.

The United Way's 211 service also is offered 24 hours a day, but cell phone customers of certain carriers have experienced disruptions, O'Hara said.

Anyone who cannot reach the 211 call center by cell phone should call the center's 10-digit number, 402-444-6666.

United Way has all of the updated flood information to pass along, O'Hara said.