Howard County remains under mandatory evacuation

Low-lying parts of Howard County remained under a mandatory evacuation order Monday, according to county emergency management officials.

Though the cities of Franklin and New Franklin’s evacuation orders have been lifted, Howard County Emergency Management said there is still floodwater covering parts of the county. County leaders had no immediate plans to lift the evacuation as of Monday.

Highway 5 between New Franklin and Boonville remained closed Monday. However, floodwater was beginning to recede from the road. Other major highways in southern Howard including Highway 87 and Hoghway 40 remained closed, according to the Missouri Department of Transportation’s traveler information map.

Southern Howard County has been hard hit by flooding over the past few weeks as water from the Missouri River overtopped and breached levees. The river began falling late last week but still remained about 12 feet above major flood stage Monday at Jefferson City. Forecasts call for river levels to continue falling slowly throughout the week.

” I was like ‘oh lord, I don’t want to have to start all over again, ‘ ” Shantay Wiltz said of the flooding.

Wiltz and her husband moved to New Franklin in April.​​​​​​ Originally from Chicago, Wiltz said she had never experienced flooding like she has in the past couple of weeks.

” It looks fine now, ” Wiltz said of her house on Monday. ” But before, it was water everywhere. ”

Though the inside of the house is not damaged, she said the yard had a lot of damage and debris. Because of the extensive cleanup, she and her fiance may postpone their wedding.

The river hit about 33.4 feet on the Jefferson City gauge at its highest crest, which would rank fourth on the list of the highest recorded crests.

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