Flash flooding prompts water rescues, closes roads in Douglas County

Water rescues were needed at two of Douglas County’s most flood-prone trouble spots Monday morning after fast-moving storms stranded motorists at U.S. 24/59 east of E 1400 Road, south of Lawrence, and at Folks Road in Martin Park. No injuries were reported, but the flooding quickly turned rural roads and low crossings into dead ends.

Lawrence picked up 2.97 inches of rain from 1 a.m. to 7 a.m., pushing the city past 7 inches for April by Monday afternoon. That came on top of roughly 4 to 5 inches in the previous week, far above the April average of 3.37 inches. The National Weather Service office in Topeka said the heaviest storm line moved through around 5 a.m. to 5:15 a.m., bringing sporadic wind gusts of 60 to 65 mph and a flash flood warning for areas southeast of Lawrence, including Miami County.

The water closed a familiar list of weak points across the county. The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office reported shutdowns on East 1000 Road and North 1750 Road, also known as the Farmer’s Turnpike, as well as Noria Road, Greenway Circle, and U.S. Highway 24/59 from Midland Junction to the Jefferson County line. Photos from the morning showed high water near E 1400 Road just south of the Midland Junction grain elevators, highway crews using snow plows to push standing water off U.S. Highway 24/59 west of Midland Junction, and traffic reduced to one lane near the Lawrence Regional Airport because of high water and a power line issue.

Flood warnings remained in effect for parts of Douglas and Shawnee counties until noon, underscoring how quickly overnight rain can overwhelm low spots before the morning commute starts. The pattern also showed how saturated ground from one storm cycle can leave the next round with nowhere to go, especially along roads near Midland Junction, Martin Park and the airport corridor.

Emergency response crews were active across the county. Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical, which has water and ice rescue capability as part of its technical rescue program, handled the local rescue response across Douglas County. The department serves 475 square miles and maintains water rescue boats for countywide coverage. The University of Kansas Lawrence campus was closed until noon after power outages, and Gov. Laura Kelly declared a state of disaster emergency on April 27 because of severe storms, tornadoes and flooding across Kansas from April 25 to April 27, making state assistance available if needed.