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Print this story Salina Journal By mid-afternoon Thursday, Smith County and much of western Kansas were under yet another tornado watch, and Undersheriff David Lloyd said forecasters were predicting another 3 inches or so of rain overnight. That's on top of the 10 inches or more that fell on the county late last week, which may have caused $1 million or more in damage to roads and bridges. "We had quite a bit of flooding, with roads and bridges washed out," Lloyd said. In some cases, rushing water washed dirt away from both sides of bridges, leaving them standing in the middle of suddenly wider creek beds. "We had a lot of culverts washed out, there was just too much water," Lloyd said. "That's too much for just two days." In all, he said, looking at his most recently updated map, 28 sections of road remained closed in Smith County on Thursday because of damage to roads or bridges. Most of the closures were from Smith Center west. Wind also knocked down a handful of power poles in the county, Lloyd said. But while storms last week had more than their share of tornadoes, they stayed away from populated areas. The damage in Smith County and elsewhere in western Kansas prompted Gov. Kathleen Sebelius on Thursday to declare 59 counties disaster areas. North-central and northwest Kansas counties included in the disaster declaration include Cheyenne, Decatur, Ellis, Ellsworth, Gove, Graham, Jewell, Lincoln, Logan, McPherson, Mitchell, Norton, Osborne, Ottawa, Phillips, Rawlins, Rooks, Russell, Saline, Sheridan, Sherman, Smith, Thomas, Trego and Wallace. Because of the disaster declaration, state disaster and recovery resources will be available. The declaration also opens the way for requesting federal disaster aid. According to the state Adjutant General's Department, total damage from storms last week will top $8 million to public infrastructure such as roads and bridges. Damage totals compiled by state officials included: n About $5.25 million to property owned by Midwest Energy across western Kansas; n $2.5 million in damage to private property in Decatur County; n $500,000 in damage to roads in Norton and Phillips counties; n $4 million in damage to private property in Gove County; n Four homes destroyed and four heavily damaged in Sheridan County.
n Reporter Mike Strand can be reached at 822-1418 or by e-mail at mstrand@salina.com. |
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