USA, State of Kansas, Hutchinson, Reno County, Description: Evacuations were underway in towns across central Kansas on Sunday as heavy overnight rains prompted flooding across the region, officials said. Reno County declared a local disaster late Sunday afternoon because of flooded streets in Hutchinson and water-covered roads around the county. "We encourage you to limit travel as much as possible to essential trips," Reno County Emergency Management director Bill Guy said in a prepared statement. About 150 residents at Elm Grove Estates in northwest Hutchinson were evacuated because water was coming into the building, said Todd Strain, emergency management specialist for Reno County. The residents were taken to Hutchinson Regional Medical Facility or to Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in south Hutchinson, depending on the level of care they needed. EMS personnel from Kansas MERGe ??" which stands for Medical Emergency Response Group ??" assisted with evacuating the residents of Dillon and Elm Grove, Strain said. More than a dozen ambulances came from surrounding counties for the rescue effort. Among the counties to assist were Butler, Harvey, McPherson, Rice and Sedgwick, Kansas Division of Emergency Management spokeswoman Sharon Watson said. About 20 people were staying at the shelter on Sunday morning, she said.rnrnA second shelter at Trinity United Methodist Church, 17th and Main, was opened for displaced residents, Guy said. High water closed several roads around rural Reno County, Strain said, including near Buhler and Haven. Reno County officials were urging people not to play in the floodwaters because septic and sewer systems have backed up and deposited waste materials into the water. There has also been "considerable" amount of run-off from fields that have had chemicals applied to crops. Those chemicals are now in the rivers, creeks and floodwaters. Flooding was also reported elsewhere in central Kansas. City officials in Ellinwood in Barton County was reporting street flooding downtown. More than 6 inches of rain was reported overnight in Barton County, according to the National Weather Service. Ellinwood residents were being provided sandbags by the county. Street flooding was reported elsewhere in the county at Great Bend, Claflin and Hoisington. In Rice County, officials were discouraging travel because of widespread flooding, Watson said. Emergency management officials were going door to door along Cow Creek urging residents to evacuate because the creek had risen 7 feet since 6 a.m. Sunday. A shelter for displaced residents has been set up at Celebration Center of Rice County in Lyons. Roads around the county are closed because of high water, and street flooding has been reported in Lyons, Sterling and Bushton. As the runoff swells Cow Creek, Strain said, residents downstream in rural Reno County between Nickerson and Hutchinson were being told to stay alert.
Posted on: Mon, 05 Aug 2013 04:17:12 +0000
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