By Dan Verbeck
Fort Leavenworth, KAN – Rising levels of the Missouri River caused water to undercut the Union Pacific Railroad tracks northwest of Sherman Army Airfield on the eastern edge of Fort Leavenworth, causing the area to flood.
According to a Rebecca Steed who speaks for the post administration, at 6:30 a.m., water began eroding the expanded earthworks that were put in place to reinforce the levee.
As the flood waters continue to rise, the levee system creates a bowl that the airfield sets in. This bowl will now begin to fill up as the water flows in from the railroad cut.
According to Steed, the airfield is the only area of Fort Leavenworth that is vulnerable to flooding.
Water has reached the hangars, but all salvageable equipment and property was relocated over the past several weeks in anticipation of rising river levels.
As of 10 a.m., the breech was 17 feet wide and two feet deep. Estimated cost of damage is unknown at this time.