Harrisonville struck again with severe flooding
Less than a month after dealing with flash flooding, the city of Harrisonville was struck again with another round of heavy rains late Monday night into early Tuesday morning, causing several road closures, evacuations and flooding inside homes and businesses.
The city said it received between 7 to 8 inches of rain. The National Weather Service in Pleasant Hill reported as much as 9 inches of rain in the Kansas City region had fallen since Monday.
On Tuesday, local government and police said crews had been working on repairs to the lower lake dam inside Harrisonville City Park. Police had warned earlier in the day that the dam could potentially break due to the high waters, and residents living downstream in the area were evacuated as a precaution.
Later in the morning, residents were able to return to their homes as repairs were completed at the dam and the city re-opened roads in the area. At least one section of Ash Street, leading into the park, had remained closed Tuesday afternoon due to water covering the roadway.
“At this time, repairs at the dam have been completed and residents are being allowed to return home,” the city said in a statement posted on its Facebook page. “Please avoid the area around City Lake today if possible since heavy equipment is in the area and be aware that water still covers Ash Street. Crews will keep an eye on the lake, but believe the situation is now under control.”
Several areas of the city that had been hit by flash flooding July 26-27 were flooded again, including Trade Fair Mall and Comfort Inn, two businesses located off of South Commercial Street in the city. Workers were seen outside Trade Fair Mall on Tuesday afternoon clearing debris.
Video captured by Missouri WeatherLive showed water seeping into several businesses in the early morning hours on Tuesday, including Price Chopper, located in the Harrisonville Marketplace shopping center.
In addition to businesses, schools — including Harrisonville, Center and Archie — were closed or delayed because of the flooding.
This story was originally published August 22, 2017 at 2:50 PM with the headline "Harrisonville struck again with severe flooding."