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Blunt tours Atchinson County, where flood recovery slowly — and fearfully — begins

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-Brent Martin contributed to this report.

U.S. Senator Roy Blunt surveyed flood damage in Atchison and Holt Counties Friday and like, the governor, took aim at the way the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers manages its rivers and reservoirs.

Flood damage at US 159 at Route P in Holt County near Fortescue, Missouri.

“For more than 15 years, I have said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ river management plan is not the right plan for Missouri. After seeing the damage today, it is clear that plan needs to be looked at. The Corps should be prioritizing flood control, navigation, and drinking water. Environmental concerns are a part of that discussion, but the priority should always be on protecting people and property.”

Governor Mike Parson is also outspoken about flood prevention and says he will meet with the governors of Iowa and Nebraska to ready their questions for the Corps.

“What is the management of the river, what’s changed here, why are we having these floods?” he asks.

John Remus, chief of Missouri River Basin Water Management for the Corps told Missourinet a week ago the current focus on the mainstem of the Missouri is flood control.

“Situations where we have high runoff or an event like this, flood control is all we operate for and in fact on the mainstem dams we have done no operations for anything but flood control since March 15th of 2018,” Remus said in a press briefing.

Missourinet contacted the Corps’ public affairs office for additional comment on non-disaster management and policy. We have gotten no response to date.

Meanwhile, farmers and displaced residents are apprehensive.

Brent Martin, KFEQ News Director has been in the field in Northwest Missouri since the flooding began. Yesterday, he spoke with county commissioners who are “fearful that there’s more water coming and these levees are already broken and they are not going to be fixed, probably within two years.”

“It’s a real disaster in Atchison County, especially from I-29 to the river,” according to North District County Commissioner Richard Burke, “And that’s basically everything in the flood plain in Atchison County. That takes in 70,000 acres.”

Read Brent’s story

The United States Department of Agriculture UnderSecretary Bill Northey is also focusing on recovery after touring the area Thursday. He told Martin in an interview that he was not prepared for the scope of the damage

“It’s just mind-boggling to be able it in person, how much water there is and how much water has to get off of here to eventually make this land such that they can get out there and get some planting done,” says Northey, a former Iowa Secretary of Agriculture.

Levees breached in Atchison County

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-KMA News

At least two levees breached in Atchison County Sunday morning.

Atchison County Emergency Management Coordinator Rhonda Wiley says a 40-foot full breach was located 2 miles north of U.S. Highway 136. Another 20-foot breach was reported a quarter-mile south of the Watson boat dock. Wiley says a big concern is the rapid rate at which the water is moving.

“Prior to the breach, we had had overtoppage,” said Wiley, “which is kind of a slower flow of water. The main channel was really fast up the rivers. On the outer side of the levees, it wasn’t as fast as it was in 2011. But, out on the outer side of the levees, it wasn’t as fast as what we were looking at in 2011. But, out on the outer side of the levees, it wasn’t as fast as what we were looking at in 2011. But now that we’ve had the breaches, the water is starting to move faster, and the faster these breaches become, the faster that the water is going to move–which is a big concern for personal safety for people that want to look around the water’s edge, and look at the damage.”

In fact, Wiley says incorrect detours are a problem around the county’s dangerous areas.

“Part of the problem is from people who are not from this area, that are rerouting through our area,” she said, “even though they have had to pass barricades, and pass detour signs. They just keep coming out to where they’re trying to find a way around to get to Nebraska, to get to Omaha. They’re even going down to the bottoms on 111, where there’s water over the road, and asking for directions, saying ‘we’re trying to get over to the 75 Highway.’ Well, if you were over the 75 Highway, you couldn’t go north that way, either, because of the floods.”

Fortunately, Wiley says most residents west of Interstate 29 have cooperated with evacuation orders.

“We do have two people were still staying in Watson,” said Wiley. “I’m hoping that they move out today. If something should happen there, then we at least know where their homes are. For the most part, I believe everyone was out. They’ve done a really fantastic job of getting themselves out. Some started a few days prior to the flood actually happening, That was the big thing–because the earlier start, the quicker you can get everything out.”

Wiley reminds residents to stay off the river bottoms, as well as away from the flooded areas.