The sky is clear and the air is dry for a change, but the Emporia and Neosho Rapids areas remain under a flood warning until Wednesday afternoon.
The warnings, for the Cottonwood River at Emporia and the Neosho River at Neosho Rapids, are a legacy of last week’s heavy rains, which soaked eastern Kansas, with some places receiving more than 7 inches of rain over three days. An official total was not available for Emporia because the National Weather Service rain gauge was not operating, but private gauges around the city showed around 3 inches and gauges in the county reported more than 4 inches of rain.
Emporia Fire Chief Jack Taylor said this morning that a man had to be rescued Sunday evening after driving into deep water around 9:30 p.m. a half a mile from Road 140 and Road H. The man was taken to Newman Regional Health as a precaution, Taylor said.
“He just drove his truck too far down into the deep water,” Taylor said.
Lyon County Engineer Chip Woods said this morning that many roads in the county remain closed because of the flooding.
“We don’t have an exact number,” he said. “Most of the roads in the Cottonwood River area are under water or have been under water and we haven’t opened them up yet.”
Wood said it is too early to assess the damage to flooded roads. He expects to see a lot of rock washed off roads, but said there could be damage to bridges and culverts, as well.
“We’ll have to wait until the water goes down to see how bad the damage is,” he said.
The county could get some financial help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to do repairs, Woods said, because the flooding was so widespread, but that money wouldn’t show up until next year. For now, the financial weight of the repairs will fall on the county.
Emporia Police Chief Gary Smith said this morning that his department had received no reports of damage from flooding in the city.
The National Weather Service said this morning that the Cottonwood River is expected to crest at 24.9 feet this afternoon. Flood stage is 20 feet. The river was expected to fall below flood stage by midnight Tuesday night.
At Neosho Rapids, the Neosho River was expected to crest at 25.1 feet this morning. Flood stage is 22 feet. The river was expected to fall below flood stage early Tuesday afternoon.