By: NICOLAS FIERRO
Salina Post
Kansas US Senators, Roger Marshall and Jerry Moran, along with Congressman Tracey Mann, have reportedly urged President Trump to approve the state’s request for a major disaster declaration.
According to Senator Marshall's office, this comes after north central Kansas has been hit with several days of severe weather that caused significant damage across rural communities.
"This federal support is critical in ensuring communities have the resources needed to repair and rebuild essential public infrastructure," said the Office of Senator Marshall.
The Kansas members of Congress wrote:
“From September 8 to 10, a slow-moving storm system produced exceptionally heavy rainfall across north-central Kansas, resulting in widespread flash flooding, overland flow, and severe damage to public infrastructure. Rainfall totals in the affected counties ranged from 8.9 inches to more than 14 inches in less than 48 hours, overwhelming drainage systems, saturating soils, and sending fast-moving floodwaters through road networks, agricultural land, and populated areas.
“This damage has placed significant financial strain on Kansans and local governments as they work to recover. Damage assessments conducted jointly by the state and FEMA have determined that Kansas is eligible for approximately $3.5 million in federal assistance.”
"We strongly support the Governor’s request and urge your Administration to provide swift federal assistance to the state of Kansas. This support is essential to ensure Kansans have the resources needed to respond to and recover from the extensive damage caused by these storms."
If this declaration were to be approved, the following counties would be eligible for federal assistance:
Lincoln, Ottawa, Ellsworth and Saline
Upon approval, local governments and public utility providers would be eligible to submit storm-related expenses to FEMA for reimbursement.
According to the US National Weather Service, throughout the month of September, Saline County received rainfalls totalling anywhere between 3.05 to over 10 inches of rain.
Many locations picked-up between 4 and 7 inches of rainfall generally west of Salina on September 8th. This caused flash flooding across parts of eastern Lincoln and far western Ottawa County.
Major flooding occurred on the Salt Creek at Barnard (Lincoln County), with it reaching a record level of 25.57 feet. Significant flooding also took plan on the Saline River, especially at Tescott, which reached moderate flood levels.
Click here to read the full text of the letter.