Widespread flooding a concern in Midwest
Pastor Dale Morgan
Widespread flooding a concern in Midwest*
By Heather Hollingsworth, Associated Press Writer
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Heavy rain from an already deadly storm system sent
the Missouri River and other Midwest waterways over their banks Tuesday,
forcing thousands of people to evacuate and bringing warnings that the
region could see flooding close to the devastation of 1993.
WEATHER GUYS BLOG: Flooding comes in several forms
Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt declared a state of emergency and mobilized
National Guard troops to help. At least 19 Kansas counties declared
local disaster emergencies.
River towns across much of Missouri were evacuating low-lying areas
Tuesday or seeking help filling and stacking sandbags.
"We're scrambling around here," said Steve Mellis, who was volunteering
near the central Missouri town of Easley as residents moved boats and
equipment to higher ground.
Two-thirds of the town of Mosby, 20 miles northeast of Kansas City, was
already under 2 to 4 feet of water from the overflowing Fishing River,
said D.C. Rogers, Clay County director of emergency services. He said
the town's 242 residents began evacuating Monday morning. By evening,
only one route into the community remained open.
Mosby's flooding could have been worse. Rogers said authorities managed
to plug a damaged dam with sandbags. That private earthen dam holds back
a 20-acre lake. If the dam broke, its water would flow into Clear Creek,
which runs into the Fishing River and through Mosby.
"Last word I got is it's holding," Rogers said. "Hopefully, the waters
will recede, and that guy can fix his dam."
"It hasn't gotten this much water since 1993," he said.
Evacuations were voluntary in several western Missouri counties, but a
mandatory evacuation was imposed in Parkville, just across the Missouri
River from Kansas City, said Jessica Robinson, a spokeswoman for the
governor.
Communities across the central Plains faced flooding from the
weekend-long thunderstorms that spawned the deadly tornado that wiped
out Greensburg, Kan.
Parts of Missouri, Iowa and Kansas received 4 to 8 inches of rain in a
24-hour period, the National Weather Service said. In some areas,
Tuesday morning was the first time in several days that rain wasn't
falling, but runoff was still raising streams and rivers.
Flooding in Oklahoma was blamed for the drowning death of a man whose
car was swept off a county road. A Kansas man died when his vehicle
overturned in a water-filled ditch near Wichita, Butler County officials
said.
Nearly 1,600 people were urged to evacuate the southwest Iowa town of
Red Oak on Monday as the Nishnabotna River rose out of its banks.
Levees broke near Willow Creek in the western Iowa town of Missouri
Valley, and some residents had to be evacuated by boat Monday, said
Mayor Randy McHugh. "Appliances are just floating around," he said Monday.
Authorities rescued about 500 people Monday from flooding around Topeka,
Kan., said Dave Bevans, a spokesman for Shawnee County emergency
operations. Officials reported similar evacuations in Saline County,
about 100 miles to the west, and flooding forced the evacuation of New
Cambria, a town of about 150 people northeast of Salina.
Since the 1993 floods in the Mississippi and Missouri river basins, only
two or three other flooding episodes have been comparable to what
forecasters are predicting in the next several days, weather service
meteorologist Andy Bailey said.
There will be differences though. The 1993 flood, one of the most costly
and devastating in U.S. history, was caused by melting snow combined
with heavy rain over a two-month period. After that, state buyouts of
property on flood plains left fewer residences in danger of future floods.
"But make no mistake," Bailey added, "this is a major flood."
At the western Missouri town of Agency, the Platte River was forecast to
reach 15 feet above flood stage Tuesday — less than a foot below its
crest in 1993.
"At that stage, we expect the entire town of Agency to be flooded,"
Bailey said.