Burlington Northern Railroad is working to raise tracks near Big Like up to 20 inches higher in some places.

Trains are still running through many of the BNSF tracks in Northwest Missouri as flooding looms.

Crews are working on a 3.4 mile stretch near Big Lake to raise the track by pulling it up and putting rock and concrete ties underneath.

Spokesperson Andy Williams calls the rail-lines a “critical link between Lincoln Nebraska and Kansas City.”  They are hauling rock to the area by train.

The line however running towards Hamburg Iowa is closed. A levee was placed across the tracks in effort to save the town.

The move to save the track does bring some controversy. Some believe they are significantly changing the floodplain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A speeding pickup truck left Savannah Road early this morning, went airborne, crashed into a house, flew over a couple sleeping in their bed, and came to rest completely inside the home.  Police say the driver and the two occupants of the house were all injured, but none of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening.  It happened shortly before 1 am at 5501 Savannah Road in north Saint Joseph.  The accident is still under investigation.

State Sen. Brad Lager, R-Savannah, today called for Senate hearings after touring the flood damage and hearing from constituents who stand to lose their homes and businesses due to record flooding being caused by releases from dams upstream.

“If anyone else purposefully destroyed property and businesses like this they would be put in jail,” Sen. Lager said. “Where is the President? Why is no one being held accountable for continued mismanagement of the river?”

Senator Lager is the Chairman of the Missouri Senate Commerce, Consumer Protection, Energy and Environment Committee, which oversees the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. While the committee does not have jurisdiction of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sen. Lager said that his committee could shine the light on mismanagement of the river and the need for a better plan for Missouri.

“The Corps’ mission should be to prevent floods, not delay them,” Sen. Lager said. “I’m not sure what difference the Corps is making if all they do is hold water and then create floods downstream. We need a better plan than simply throwing our hands up in the air and releasing record amounts of water.”

Senator Lager said he hopes to hold hearings later this summer or in the fall.

 

(AP) – A former northwest Missouri sheriff faces eight federal misdemeanor counts of depriving women of their civil rights for allegedly forcing them to expose themselves.

Prosecutors say former Worth County Sheriff Neal Groom talked the women into exposing various body parts during searches. They say Groom forced four women to show their breasts, while others showed their lower abdomen and stomach in searches from May 2006 through December 2007.

The 60-year-old served for eight years before losing his election bid in 2008. The U.S. attorney’s office in Kansas City says Groom hasn’t made a court appearance, and it’s unclear if he has an attorney.

His initial appearance and a change of plea hearing are scheduled for Aug. 10 in Kansas City.

Volunteers and members of the National Guard put in 12-hour shifts shoring up a secondary levee to protect the town of Hamburg, Iowa. The community is now seeing the full force of water releases upstream. Omaha has been dealing with high water for several days. These photographs, from June 14th and 15th, give us an indication of what we face in St Joe, based on what’s going on upstream on the Missouri River.

It was closed. Then it was open. Now it’s closed again. I-29 has been the subject of a lot of talk between the Iowa and Missouri transportation departments. Elaine Justus of MODOT tells us the river has not been as predictable as they’d like.

“The Iowa DOT in monitoring the floodwater noticed it wasn’t rising as fast as they thought it would, so they rescinded that closure, and so did we” Justus said.

By 2:30 Wednesday afternoon, the interstate was closed again, in both directions, between Rock Port, Missouri and Hamburg, Iowa.

Closing the interstate had some unintended consequences. Traffic from I-29 was detoured onto US-136 Wednesday. But for motorists trying to cross the river into Nebraska , there was another delay.

Maintenance work on the Brownville bridge left one lane restricted, and that created a huge backlog. Motorists were warned to expect additional delays of about thirty minutes while waiting to cross the bridge.

Some motorists have already tried sneaking around barricades, and he warned crews erecting flood barriers along the closed interstate near Hamburg, Iowa to watch out for those motorists.

The National Guard and Army Corps of Engineers, plus a lot of volunteers, expected to complete a secondary levee to protect Hamburg, Iowa by Wednesday evening. Missouri River floodwaters pouring through a breached levee have inundated parts of the town and hundreds of acres of farmland in the area.

We flew over the area Wednesday, courtesy of Express Flight, Inc. of St Joseph. Hal Keck piloted the Cessna-172.

Somewhere along the way we discovered the “Hamburg Flood Page” on Facebook. The author graciously allowed us to post pictures from that page here.

Photo’s taken Wednesday, June 15th, above Holt County by Micheal Clements.  Special thanks to Jamie Barnes from Barnes Realty.

For more visit:Barnes Realty Online.

Also visit their Youtube channel for videos: Barnes Realty on Youtube

Floodwater runoff carries a lot of risk, both visible and hidden.  Health officials in Kansas and Missouri want to warn you of the possibilities.

Rapid Current:  The National Weather Service states that simply six inches of fast-moving water can knock you off your feet. Two feet of fast-moving water will sweep cars away. Flowing water is often moving faster than you realize. Murky flood water hides multiple hazards underfoot, one false step and you can be swept away and drown. Never let children play in flood water.

Debris:  Rushing flood waters pick up everything: tree branches, lumber, furniture, propane tanks, even houses. These heavy items develop incredible force when pushed by rapidly moving water. Colliding with this type of heavy debris can cause serious injuries or death.

Chemicals:  Flood waters and may contain any variety of contaminants including, fertilizer, and pesticides, industrial chemicals, toxic wastes, paint, oil, fuel, gasoline, human and animal waste.

Infectious organisms: Flood water may contain E. Coli, Salmonella, Shigella, Hepatitis A Virus, and Typhoid. Flood water additionally attracts mosquitoes which can breed and spread disease.

Shock hazards:  Flood water can be charged with electricity from underground or downed power lines. Wading in water around buildings where the electricity is still on can lead to electrocution.

If you live in an area prone to flooding, pay attention to local forecasts and advisories or warnings have an evacuation plan and move to higher ground before the water rises. Contact your local law enforcement and health department officials for up-to-date instructions in your area.

Avoid contact and restrict pets and livestock from contact with river water until the flooding conditions cease. Waters may not recede for several weeks.

Officials say the best way to avoid the risk is to avoid the water.

Kansas Governor Sam Brownback will join federal state and local officials in a teleconference call with residents of northeast Kansas Wednesday night.

Brownback will be joined by 2nd District Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins and Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger, along with representatives of FEMA, the National Flood Insurance Program, and the Army Corps of Engineers.

The goal of this call will be to inform residents of Northeast Kansas about the resources available to them and answer any questions they may have about the flood and the State and Federal Government’s response.

Calls will be placed to the residents of Atchison, Doniphan, and Leavenworth counties at 7:15pm CST, but all interested parties are welcome to join this hour long call by dialing 877-229-8493 (PIN: 13996).

Also Wednesday, Governor Sam Brownback and Adjutant General Lee Tafanelli will meet with local officials, emergency responders and residents in Levenworth.  The meeting is scheduled at 12:30 p.m. at the Riverfront Community Center located at 123 S. Esplanade in Leavenworth to discuss how they are preparing for potential flooding and how the state is assisting them.