Overtopped levees prompt evacuations in northern MO

[proud2BlibKansan]

The Missouri River overtopped levees in Atchison and Holt counties today, prompting evacuations and road closures.

Communities all along the river are preparing for a summer of high water. After a significant snow melt and unusually heavy spring rains, Gavins Point Dam in South Dakota started releasing 150,000 cubic feet of water per second on Tuesday. The record release rate is expected to continue throughout the summer.

A two-foot rise in the Missouri River over 24 hours led to water overtopping a levee in Atchison County, Mo., early this morning.

“The two-foot rise was not something that we anticipated,” said Mark Manchester, Atchison County’s deputy director of emergency management and 911. But the Army Corps of Engineers anticipated water could overtop the levee at some point, officials said.



Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/06/19/2961113/overtopped-levees-prompt-evacuations.html#ixzz1PmYWPOYu



The county in red is Holt County. Atchison County is directly north of it.