WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Heavy rains caused flash flooding in the Wichita area of south-central Kansas, forcing firefighters to rescue dozens of people, including stranded motorists.
Sedgwick County's emergency management director, Julie Stimson, said at a briefing Tuesday night that the county had received anywhere from 1 1/2 inches to 7 inches of rain since Monday. She warned motorists who run into flooded areas not to drive around barricades or emergency vehicles, and to turn around instead.
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly issued a disaster emergency declaration to enable state agencies to provide assistance.
The Wichita Fire Department used boats to rescue several motorists trapped in their cars. While the water sometimes reached windshield height, some people still attempted to drive through it.
“We have to put ourselves in danger with our life jackets and our boats to get them into a life jacket and into a boat to get them out of the water,” Fire Capt. Lance Diffenbaugh told KSN-TV. “So there’s no sense in it if they can just turn around and wait 10 minutes for the water to go down.”
A few roads remained closed Wednesday morning, according to the county's interactive map.
About 30 miles east, the torrential rainfall caused the Walnut River to overflow, flooding several streets in Dorado and sending people scrambling for safety.
“By the time we got most of the stuff out of there and were going to get the last few things, it was already up to our waist, and we were pretty much swimming to get out,” resident Michelle Yerge told KAKE-TV.
Wednesday's forecast called for dry conditions, but more storms were forecast for Thursday. Officials warned that the soil in the area is saturated and even an inch or two of rainfall could lead to localized flooding.