KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — More towns are evacuating as the flooded Missouri River seeps over and through busted levees.
The National Weather Service said the river is expected to crest Friday at levels just short of those reached during historic 1993 flooding in Atchison, Kansas, and St. Joseph, Missouri.
St. Joseph and Buchanan County, Missouri, issued a mandatory evacuation of areas near two levees, one on the Missouri side and one on the Kansas side. Residents and businesses in those areas should "take steps to start the evacuation process immediately," the city said in a Facebook post. St. Joseph police officers were going door-to-door to notify those people to leave.
"While the federal levees are in good condition and operating as they should, we must take precautionary measures to ensure the safety of our residents," the city said in a Facebook post Friday morning.
About 1,200 residents of Elwood, Kansas, also were urged to leave, and Gov. Laura Kelly eased restrictions on large vehicles carrying relief supplies. Across the river, parts of an industrial area in St. Joseph were inundated with water.
But no major flooding is forecast downstream in Kansas City.
The Missouri River swelled following heavy rains and snowmelt this month. The flooding had been blamed for three deaths, damaged thousands of homes in Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri, and taken a heavy toll on agriculture.
