Franklin, New Franklin put flood plan to use

The towns of Franklin and New Franklin were prepared for flooding, New Franklin police Chief Mike Wise said Wednesday.

Wise said the city had been working on a flooding plan for four years that prioritized keeping the residents safe.

In order to do this, the county’s emergency management team helped with getting shelters set up.

Though the main shelter was in Boonville, Wise said an intake shelter was established in Franklin and New Franklin. Residents would meet at these locations and someone would take them to the shelter in Boonville.

Parts of Franklin and New Franklin in Howard County have been underwater since last week as the Missouri River and its tributaries continue to rise. The river was holding steady on the downstream Boonville gauge Wednesday at levels that continued to stress levees across mid-Missouri.

Floodwater breached two levees in southern Howard County last week and major highways in the area were closed over the weekend.

Wise said he and Boonville Police Chief Bobby Welliver will continue offer each town assistance until the flood is over. Right now there’s no sure indication of when that will be as rain remains in the forecast and more water is being released from reservoirs upriver.

Wise said the cities of Franklin and New Franklin expect more homes to be under water in the next couple of days.

The chief said a large field in the middle of New Franklin was about one quarter of the way flooded Wednesday morning. By 1 p.m. Wednesday, he said it was three-quarters full.

p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000; min-height: 13.0px}span.s1 {font-kerning: none}