Floodwaters inundate KCKPD's firing range

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Flooding has overtaken the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department’s firing range.

KCKPD Chief Terry Ziegler posted several pictures of the flooded range via Twitter Sunday morning.

The range is located next to the Kansas City Board of Public Utilities' Nearman power plant, next to the Missouri river and across from Parkville, Missouri.

On Monday, police boated out to the range to assess damages. They said the water may have reached up to eight inches inside the facilities.

According to a release from KCKPD, “The road leading to the range became impassable last Sunday, March 17th.”

All weapons and ammunition stored at the facility are located “in a secure vault on high ground,” so it should be safe from the flood waters, KCKPD said.

“Other valuable equipment was moved to higher ground and the facility was secured” last week, according to a statement.

The range is used primarily for firearms training and qualification, which has been postponed until the water recedes. The extent of the damage and necessity of repairs won’t be known until then.

"We have until December to get everyone qualified again," Officer Tom Tomasic said. "We are at 300-some officers, so even if we have to close it for month, even two months, it's not going to cause a problem for us to qualify."

KCKPD said the range’s condition hasn’t affected essential department operations.

Matt May, director of Unified Government Emergency Management, said the area is always flood prone, and that's why it has stayed agricultural.

The area is all soy bean fields.

"We're fortunate in that the crops that are normally in this area aren't in yet, so they'll get a chance to do that if it dries out fast," May said. "The real question is how long will it continue to run like this, because we think its going to be a while, maybe a month, where we'll see very high water amounts."