As local safety officials, and state agencies, too, are preparing to educate the Kansas public about severe weather safety for another round of the storm season, a local couple are concerned about storm-related issues close to home — right on the west edge of Great Bend, as a matter of fact.
Arlan and Jill Nokes recently met with the Barton County Commission to discuss, again, their concerns about street flooding that is actually expanding just outside the Great Bend city limits on Second Street.
The Nokes came to commissioners a couple of years ago, they recalled, explaining that water is not getting channeled away from that road due to poor condition culverts and other drainage issues.
At the point where the trouble occurs, they noted, the gravel road is actually the responsibility of a township. However in Kansas the county commissioners can step in if there is a problem that doesn’t get handled by the township.
Arlan Nokes explained he’s concerned about the driving challenges, but his concerns are also closer to home, too. “We don’t want water in our house.”
And it has come close to that.
Nokes said he’s concerned that in a major storm event, there’s going to be more than inconvenience if the road is not appropriately maintained. “We just want to make you aware of the situation,” He added.
The problem area is just off Patton Road on Second Street, and the commissioners said they would look into the situation.
Street flooding is a serious issue in Kansas, and it is much more common than other forms of severe weather, state experts urge.
Any given community can go for years without getting hit with a tornado, or even with a thunderstorm powerful enough to cause damage.
But flash flooding — street flooding — is just a matter of time, and it can create situations that are more dangerous than they seem, especially to those who aren’t educated about flooding dangers.
Flash flooding can turn difficult weather conditions into fatal traps in a matter of moments, so experts continue to warn drivers to watch out for quickly changing weather conditions during the Kansas severe storm season.
Flash flooding can accompany thunderstorms and it is often more deadly than more “significant” flooding.
This area has seen flood-related deaths, and they happened in situations that most drivers would not have remembered as flooding. They happened in low-water, flash flood areas where people attempted to drive through water and were trapped in their vehicles as they filled with water.
And that doesn’t require a wall of water to stop a vehicle, either, experts warn. It only takes two feet of water to be swept off the road.
A good rule is to avoid water flowing over a roadway, and to never pass a barricade in flash flood conditions. The barricade is there for a reason, safety officials warn.