Flooding, unfortunately, is happening again across the KVOE listening area.
Heavy rain over the weekend — anywhere from 3.5 to 6 inches — pushed rivers out of their banks for the fourth time since early May. Lyon County Commissioner Rollie Martin says this has certainly affected the county’s road network and county agriculture. It will also have an impact on county budgeting.
Last week, President Donald Trump signed a major disaster bill for Kansas after severe weather and flooding dating back to late April. All counties in the KVOE listening area were included. Rollie Martin says the resulting federal dollars could well be useful for the county as the assessment and repair process continues.
The federal government will pay up to 75 percent of eligible costs for debris removal, facility repairs or replacements and hazard mitigation projects.
At the county government level, the flooding in Chase County has led to the closure of one county office Monday. The Treasurer’s Office will be closed with staff either unable to get to the office or out of state. Normal hours should resume Tuesday. There is no word about whether flooding will force the closure of other Chase County offices.
Rivers keep rising areawide, with flood warnings in effect for five area gauges:
*Cottonwood River at Emporia: Warning until Thursday night. The river is at 22.47 feet, above flood stage of 20 feet. Expected crest now is 24.7 feet, high enough to cover the southbound lane of Kansas Highway 99 south of Emporia but not the northbound lane.
*Cottonwood River at Cottonwood Falls: Warning until Tuesday night. River is at 8.7 feet, below flood stage of 9. It should go above flood stage shortly and climb to 10.5 feet later Monday. It should go below flood stage Tuesday morning.
*Cottonwood at Plymouth: Warning until Wednesday afternoon. River is now at 32.02 feet, above flood stage of 32 feet but down from 32.38 feet Sunday night. The current forecast has the river climbing to 33 feet Tuesday morning and going below flood stage Wednesday morning.
*Neosho River at Emporia: Warning until Tuesday morning. Early Sunday morning the river was reported at 14.8 feet, with flood stage is 19 feet. Forecast shows the river passing flood stage Sunday evening and reaching as high as 24 feet Monday morning.
*Neosho River at Neosho Rapids: Warning until Thursday. River is at 24.35 feet, above flood stage of 22. River should go rise to 26.7 feet Tuesday morning and go below flood stage Wednesday night.
The Kansas Department of Transportation has reopened Kansas Highway 99 to normal traffic flow two miles north of Emporia. KDOT limited traffic to one lane after Sunday flooding. Aside from that, the list of Lyon County road closures got long in a hurry Sunday:
*Road A from US Highway 50 to Road 180
*Road H between 140 and 145; between 160 and 165
*1300 and 1400 blocks Road J; J from 30th Avenue (Road 190) to 215
*1300 and 1400 blocks Road K; K from 190 to 210
*Road M between 140 and 150
*Road 140 between Road H and Kansas Highway 99
*700 block Road 145
*Road 150 between Road J and Kansas Highway 99
*Road 155 between F and G
*700 and 800 blocks Road 160
*Road 190 from K to K-5
*Road 210 from Road K to Kansas Highway 99
*Road 215 from F-5 to H-5; H-5 to J-7
Stay with KVOE and KVOE.com for more developments. Click here for KVOE News’ weather coverage from this past weekend.
Photos by Chuck Samples/KVOE News
{gallery}Flood CS 062319{/gallery}
Photos by Jesse Dains
{gallery}Flood Jesse Dains 062319{/gallery}
Photo by Dorothy Blaufuss
{gallery}Flood Dorothy Blaufuss{/gallery}
Rain gauge photos by Anne Keller, Glenna Nymeyer, Michael Esch, Todd Hensley
{gallery}Flood Rain Gauges 062319{/gallery}
