Flash Flooding in Kansas, October 8 to 9, 2003

Major flooding in Moundridge. Water flowing over Black Kettle Creek Bridge left Black Kettle Park underwater. The three bridges at Moundridge were "all but impassable". The flooding of Black Kettle Creek required sandbagging of many homes. Despite the sandbagging effort, water still infiltrated the basements of a few homes. Sewer backup posed a problem as well, as 3.5 to 5 inches of rain occurred within the span of about 6 hours.The southeast quadrant of McPherson County was especially inundated in areas along, and south, of U.S. Route 56, where many roads were under water. Reportedly, water surged across some of the roads, bringing mud and debris onto the affected roadway to depths reaching one foot. One county road, 2 miles south of Canton, flooded to depths of 2-3 feet. An unspecified number of roads and highways sustained pavement damage, including to their respective shoulders. No damage estimate was available at the time this narrative was assembled. (The McPherson Sentinal contributed greatly to this narrative.)

Rainfalls of 3-4 inches caused major flooding in and around Hutchinson. However, only one street was barricaded, from 82nd Avenue to Buhler, but numerous vehicles stalled. (The Hutchinson News contributed to this narrative.)

Widespread and persistent heavy rains of 3-6 inches caused major flooding. The most serious flooding occurred across North and West Wichita, where streets flooded to depths of 3 feet, a dozen roads were barricaded at one point and numerous vehicles were stalled. One such vehicle was a school bus that was stranded near the 109th Street North/Ridge Road intersection. No children were on board the bus, however the driver required rescue by emergency personel. The gym at Robinson Middle School flooded to depths of nearly 8 inches. Wichita's sewage treatment plant overloaded, causing the city to release raw sewage into the Arkansas River.The Cowskin Creek, achieving a stage of 20.12 feet around 12 noon on the 9th, overflowed it's banks but homes were spared any flood damage even though the creek encroached nearby yards. (The Wichita Eagle contributed greatly to this narrative.)

Rainfalls of 3-5 inches caused widespread flash flooding. The most noteworthy flooding occurred when one bridge was washed out in Southeast Harvey County and just west of Hesston, where Dutch Avenue was barricaded. (The Hutchinson News contributed to this narrative.)

Flash flooding was major! The following roads were barricaded: Andover Road, Santa Fe Lake Road 2 miles south of Douglass, Haverhill Road 2 miles south of Highway 54 near Haverhill, Butler Road north of Highway 254 between NW 30th and NW 40th Streets, 2nd Street Bridge just west of Augusta on Southwest Thunder Road, SW 120th Street and Tawakoni Road, 21st Street just west of Santa Fe Lake Road, and the Santa Fe Lake Road/NW 30th Street intersection. Stalled vehicles dotted the entire area.The reported injury resulted from a one vehicle accident on North Ohio Avenue in Augusta. Water flowed across the Little Walnut River bridge. Flooding of many basements resulted from rainfalls ranging from 3 to 5.7 inches. A one-vehicle accident occurred near El Dorado at the intersection of Edgemoor & Towanda Roads when the driver missed the edge of the road and went into a ditch. The driver was unhurt. A rescue squad was summoned to evacuate one couple and their pet from their home located on Four-Mile Creek near Augusta. The home was flooded to depths around one foot. Members of the rescue squad were endangered as the 12-foot boat used required operation at full throttle to work it's way upstream. A rescue squad was also summoned to the scene of one vehicle stalled in high water at SW 70th Street and Ohio.In the Aspen Creek development about 2 miles south of Andover, two homes sustained major basement flooding to depths of 5-6 feet. In the Wagon Wheel subdivision, six homes were flooded, although depths did not exceed one foot.Not surprisingly, the torrential rains induced rises from both the Walnut and Whitewater Rivers in Augusta. The Walnut River crested to around 22.0 feet (four feet above flood stage) the night of the 10th. The Whitewater River crested at 24.5 feet (3.5 feet above flood stage) at the Whitewater Bridge on U.S. Highway 54 the afternoon of the 9th. (The Augusta Daily News, the El Dorado Times and the Wichita Eagle all contributed greatly to this narrative.)

K-44 underwater.