By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
High water from the crest of the Missouri River has triggered evacuation orders for parts of St. Joseph.
City officials in Elwood, Kansas, across the river, already issued evacuation orders after the Missouri reached 30 feet last night. It currently stands at 32.02 feet, just below the record crest reached at St. Joseph in 1993.
A levee breach sent floodwaters over Highway 59 in southern Buchanan County, closing the highway from Rushville to Atchison, including the Amelia Earhart Bridge.
St. Joseph police report Kirschner Addition, located north of Alabama, is now under mandatory evacuation.
The City of St. Joseph and Buchanan County issued a voluntary evacuation of areas behind the L-455 levee system on the Missouri side. St. Joseph police says there is an additional two feet of levee height protecting the area, but the voluntary evacuation was issued in an abundance of caution.
The area behind the L-455 levee unit includes nearly all areas west of Lake Avenue/U.S. 59 Highway, between Contrary Creek on the south and Atchison Street on the north.
Stockyards Expressway will remain closed until further notice due to flooding. A mandatory evacuation order has been issued for Kirshner Addition north of Alabama Street. Alabama from King Hill Ave to Lake Ave is open. Alabama from Lake Ave to Lake Contrary is closed.
The animal shelter opening at Hyde Park has been postponed until the animals from the Lake Avenue Shelter can be moved there.
An evacuation shelter has been set up at the Keys Church, located at 6002 South 9th Street. An animal shelter has been established at Hyde Park, located at 899 E. Hyde Park.