By Cheril Lee
Omaha, NE – During its daily conference call, the Iowa Emergency Management Agency gave an update on the levee breach near Hamburg, Iowa.
Lucinda Robertson, Chief PIO for Homeland Security and Emergency Management, says the breach is located in Atchison County, Missouri and is approximately 75-feet wide. She says repair measures are not possible and have been abandoned at the site. Robertson says this is the 4th breach in that area, "The good news is the Army Corps of Engineers has been working on a secondary levee for the past several days. And they plan to have that completed by Wednesday. Based on land elevations, it's looking like the water from the breach is predicted to reach Hamburg in approximately two days. Currently, it looks like primarily agricultural land will be affected by flooding from that breach in the levee."
Electrical services to 150 customers of Western Iowa Power Cooperative have been interrupted in Harrison and Monona Counties. The Power Coop expects to restore service to these customers sometime in August.