As volunteers and residents in Holt and Atchison counties in northwest Missouri continue sandbagging to keep the rising Missouri River at bay, Sen. Claire McCaskill is looking for answers from the Army Corps of Engineers.
McCaskill says she feels the frustration and anger of residents living in the small communities that have been ordered to evacuate, and wants the Army Corps of Engineers to explain the motivating factor for releasing water from reservoirs upriver when they did.
“I need to understand that clearly,” said McCaskill. “I want to make sure that decisions are not being made to protect recreational use of those reservoirs upriver, without focusing enough on potential consequences like we’re seeing now downriver. Those are the kinds of questions that need to be answered.”
McCaskill is meeting with Brigadier General John McMahon with the Army Corps today to discuss the current flooding and how to prevent it in the future.
The Army Corps of Engineers is increasing the amount of water released from Gavins Point Dam in South Dakota this week, so the Missouri River will rise even more in Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri.