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Levee Breach Prompts Evacuations, Water Rescues East Of Kansas City

Flood waters rise in Levasy, Missouri, after a levee breached Saturday morning.
Samuel King
/
KCUR 89.3
Flood waters rise in Levasy, Missouri, after a levee breached Saturday morning.

Jackson County, Missouri, officials urged an evacuation of the town of Levasy on Saturday after a levee broke leaving parts of the town under water.

The town of 80 people is about 25 miles east of Kansas City, along the Missouri River.

The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and the Missouri State Highway Patrol conducted water rescues as the river continued to rise. No injuries were reported.

“The individuals were prepared, they were ready, they just couldn’t get out of their homes because of high water,” said Deputy Raashid Brown, public information office for the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office. “But we were able to get everyone to a safe place.”

Flood waters surround the Levasy Civic Center after a levee breached along the Missouri River.
Credit Samuel King / KCUR 89.3
/
KCUR 89.3
Flood waters surround the Levasy Civic Center after a levee breached along the Missouri River.

Residents said it was the worst flooding in the town in several years. They were anxiously watching another levee to the east of town, which had also partially breached.

“A lot of people are just trying to make sure people are getting out,” said Erin Dieckmann, who has lived in the town for 12 years. “People are hanging in there, strapping stuff down, moving stuff up … making sure elderly are taking care of, that type of thing.”

Brown said the sheriff’s office would continue to monitor the situation over the next 24 hours. Access to the town is now restricted to residents and emergency personnel. 

Samuel King is the Missouri government and politics reporter at KCUR 89.3. Follow him on Twitter: @SamuelKingNews

Copyright 2021 KCUR 89.3. To see more, visit KCUR 89.3.

Samuel covers Missouri government and politics for KCUR. He comes to KCUR from the world of local television news, where he worked for 14 years in markets like Minneapolis, New York City and Montgomery. Samuel has extensive experience covering elections and state government in states across the country. He has won Associated Press awards for spot news coverage and investigative reporting. A native of Queens, New York, Samuel also spent time growing up in Alabama. He is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Intergrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University.