LEAVENWORTH, Kan. — The dangers of the rising Missouri River are already evident in Leavenworth.
The Second Street bridge was closed Monday to the public as water covered it.
"You're always nervous," Michael McDonald, Public Works Director for the City of Leavenworth, said. "Mother nature is continuously challenging your preparedness."
The city spent this past week preparing for this inevitable flooding.
On Monday morning, river levels were just over 25 feet. Flood stage is at 20 feet.
Here’s a look at the Missouri River from @LeavenworthKS. This morning it was 25.15 feet. Flood stage is 20 ft. Officials hope it stays under 30’. @41actionnews pic.twitter.com/xLzSQ64gA6
— Andres Gutierrez (@AFGutierrez) March 18, 2019
They're hoping to stay under a certain number.
"Staying under 30 is important to us," McDonald said. "We're prepared to deal with up to elevations of 33 (feet), but if it stays under 30, it's a fairly minor effort with what we've already done."
The city has already placed 1,000 sandbags at the community center and another thousand at the wastewater treatment plant.
"If we get a heavy rain storm and some rain is forecast between now and the next week, it could cause some flash flooding in areas that you normally don't see it because the river is occupying all the drainage space in the creeks," McDonald said.
Meanwhile at Fort Leavenworth, the Sherman Army Airfield is closed for business.
The aircraft are on higher ground and fuel tanks are empty as water seeps through the ground in the floodplain.
"As the floodwaters come up, wildlife has got to evacuate and go someplace and they'll come to higher ground," Jeffrey Wingo, Public Affairs Officer for the U.S. Army Garrison at Fort Leavenworth said. "We told our community to just be alert that wildlife you ordinarily don't see could be in your community. Just leave them alone."
Base leaders don't expect this flood to be as bad as it was in 1993 or in 2011, but they are closely monitoring conditions along with many others in Kansas City.
