President Donald Trump has signed a disaster declaration for Kansas flooding. However, not all the counties currently in the state disaster declaration are included in the federal document.
President Trump approved disaster relief for 18 counties, including Coffey, Greenwood and Osage — essentially the first wave of counties involved in what is now a roughly 50-county list, including all counties in the KVOE listening area. The Federal Emergency Management Agency says more counties may be added later.
Meanwhile, the impact of our third round of flooding continues — even though it is apparently diminishing in some ways.
Lyon County road closures:
*2100-2200 blocks Rd 40
*170 between Y & Z
*Road 250 between Roads D & F
*Road H between Roads 130 & 140
*300 block X
*300, 400, 500, 2300 blocks Y
Elsewhere, Kansas Highway 58 from Oxen to Planter is in Coffey County still open to one lane. KDOT crews are flagging traffic through that part of the highway. KDOT crews are also rebuilding K-58’s south shoulder between Planter Road and the LeRoy city limit after it was washed out by flooding. Traffic will be reduced to one lane, so a pilot car and flagger will be used at that location. That could go until June 4.
Also, the Coffey County Commission has approved a measure to waive landfill fees for debris coming from flood-damaged homes. Loads need to be separated into several categories, including tree limbs; household items; and furniture and construction debris. This is in effect for the next two weeks.
Numerous county road closures remain in effect for Chase, Coffey and Greenwood counties. Several river gauges remain in flood through the KVOE listening area.
The Cottonwood is still in flood at Emporia. The river is at 21.7 feet, above flood stage of 20 feet. The river is slowly falling and may drop below flood stage before noon Thursday.
The Neosho is also in flood from Neosho Rapids southeast to LeRoy.
*At Neosho Rapids, the river is at 24.78 feet, above flood stage of 22 feet, and falling. The river may drop below flood stage Saturday afternoon.
*At Burlington, the river is at 29.11 feet, above the flood stage of 27. It may hold near its current mark for several days.
*At LeRoy, the river was last observed at 28.25 feet, above flood stage of 23 feet. The river may drop to 26.3 feet Thursday and then hold steady through the upcoming weekend.
For lakes, flooding continues downstream of John Redmond Reservoir through Burlington and LeRoy. The Army Corps of Engineers has dropped the release from around 24,200 cubic feet per second down to around 21,700. Voluntary evacuations are still highly encouraged in Burlington and LeRoy with the releases to continue until further notice.
In Greenwood County, releases out of Fall River Reservoir are down substantially from the 36,000-cubic feet mark over the weekend. Releases now are less than 2,900 cfs.
In Osage County, Melvern Lake is less than three feet shy of flowing uncontrolled through a spillway near Outlet Park. Lake levels have gradually climbed since Outlet Park was closed Saturday. All Outlet Park sites are closed until June 16 and Outlet Beach is closed until further notice. All sites at Turkey Point and Arrow Rock are closed through June, and Coeur d’Alene sites 9-32 are also closed until the end of June. The public is encouraged to attend a special public meeting Thursday about the current “high-water” event. The Army Corps of Engineers is organizing the meeting, which begins at 6 pm at Lyndon High School.
Stay with KVOE and KVOE.com for updates.
