Midwest downpours prompt more evacuations, flash flood fears
KANSAS CITY, Mo. • Rain swamping the nation’s midsection forced people from their homes in Kansas, stranded dozens of Texas children at school overnight and strained levees along the surging Mississippi River in Illinois, Missouri and elsewhere Wednesday prompting yet more flash flood concerns.
The flooding began in earnest in March, causing billions of dollars of damage to farmland, homes and businesses across the Midwest. Rivers in many communities have been above flood stage for more than six weeks after waves of heavy rain.
Some parts of Kansas received up to 10 inches from Tuesday through Wednesday, said Kelly Butler, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Wichita. She described that as a “ridiculous amount of water” on top of grounds that were saturated by days of rains. Several Kansas districts canceled classes, and numerous water rescues were reported.
Emergency management officials began evacuating people from their homes near the Kansas college town of Manhattan around 5 a.m. Wednesday as Wildcat Creek overflowed its banks. The Cottonwood River spilled over in Marion County, prompting more evacuations and the surging Slate Creek also forced people from their homes in Wellington and closed a stretch of the Kansas Turnpike near the Oklahoma border.
“It seemed like our poor fire department folks were going out constantly overnight, whether it was sandbagging, barricading streets or assisting citizens,” said Keri Korthals, the emergency management director in Butler County, where crews rescued around a dozen people from vehicles stuck in rising water .
Flash flood watches also are in effect in Missouri, Nebraska, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas, as well as flood warnings along the Mississippi River.
Kurt Rowland surveys the scene in the Colony Bend neighborhood of Sugar Land, Texas, on Wednesday. Rowland bought the kayak shortly before Hurricane Harvey and was glad to have it, he said. Residents have been surprised that the water has not receded more quickly as it has in the past when the rain has stopped. More rain is forecast for the coming days.