The Flood of May 2019 is coming to an end.
Shortly after sunrise Sunday, the Cottonwood River cleared enough of Kansas Highway 99 south of Emporia to get traffic started again on the highway for the first time since Wednesday, although there was noticeable damage to the shoulder from Road 155 south to Road 140. By evening, the flood warning for the Cottonwood at Emporia had been canceled.
Now, just one area river gauge is in flood. The Neosho River at Neosho Rapids is just under 25 feet and falling, but it’s still almost three feet above the 22-foot flood stage and it may not go below flood stage until Tuesday. The flood warning continues until late Tuesday night.
Greenwood County, meanwhile, remains in a countywide flood warning until Tuesday afternoon.
Damage assessments will continue as floodwaters clear more roads, but early indications are some Lyon County gravel roads suffered extensive damage over the past week. KVOE News will keep track of damage reports areawide, especially in Lyon, Chase and Greenwood counties, which all had much of their gravel road networks underwater due to flooding.
Lyon County’s road closure list held steady Saturday and may not see any changes until Monday:
-1900 Road 60
-Road 140 from Road H to Road K-5
-Road 145 from Road G to Road H; west of Neosho Rapids river bridge
-Road 150 from Road C to Road E; Road E to Road F; from Road H to Road K-5; from Road M to Road N; from Road N to Road R; west of Road X
-Road 155 from Road K to Road K-5
-Road 160 from Road N to Road R; Road R to Road S
-Road 170 from Road N to Road R
-Road 177 West of Road P5
-Road 240 from Road D to Road E
-Road A from Road 170 to Road 180
-Road B-2 from Road 170 to Road 180
-Road B-5 from Road 170 to Road 180
-Road C from US Highway 50 to Road 180
-Road E from Road 140 to Road 160
-Road F from Road 160 north
-Road G from Road 140 to Road 145
-Road G5 from Road 170 to Road 175
-Road H from Road 140 to Road 145
-Road J from Road 130 to Road 160
-Road K from Road 130 to Road 155
-Road M from Road 137 to Road 150
-Road N from Road 160 to Road 170
-Road P from Road 160 to Road 170
-Road R from Road 160 to Road 170; from Road 140 to Road 160
-Road S from Road 130 to Road 137
-Road T from Road 130 to Road 150
-Road W from Road 122 to Road 145; south of Road 155
Meanwhile, limited water releases continue from Council Grove Reservoir as the lake remains near the top of the flood pool. The Army Corps of Engineers is releasing less than 1,500 cubic feet per second from that reservoir, but it’s releasing a lot more from the John Redmond Reservoir — over 17,000 cubic feet per second — with John Redmond also near the top of its flood pool. The Neosho River is running near normal levels from Council Grove to Emporia, so the river should not approach flood stage as the releases continue.
Both Council Grove and John Redmond have campgrounds, trails and RV parks closed due to flooding until further notice. It will be Wednesday at the earliest before Melvern Lake has its closed campgrounds reopen.
Stay with KVOE and KVOE.com as coverage of the current flood continues. Check KVOE.com and KVOE social media for photos and videos.
