Update Sunday 1 p.m.
City of Manhattan officials estimate flooding caused damage to 93 properties which contained 106 buildings and 381 dwelling units. They are hoping to have a total accounting of building damage finished by next week after staff completes inputting data into the FEMA model.
The Emergency shelter at Pottorf Hall closed at 12 p.m. Saturday. The remaining residents displaced by the flooding have either found living arrangements on their own or were set up with housing by their landlords.
American Red Cross Executive Director Jane Blocher said they are “extremely grateful” for the outpouring of support from community organizations for flood victims.
”The Multi-Agency Resource Center held [Friday] brought dozens of organizations together under one roof to provide support services to countless of individuals seeking our help,” said Blocher. “Because of this wonderful collaboration, we are able to successfully help these residents move forward in their recovery.”
The city also recommended residents use caution when removing water and mud damaged belongings while cleaning up their properties. The Center for Disease Control has these recommendations for the process:
– Keep children and pets out of the affected area until cleanup has been completed.
– Wear personal protective equipment, including rubber boots, rubber gloves, and goggles during cleanup of affected area.
– While cleaning up areas with mold damage, wear a NIOSH-approved N-95 respirator, or one that provides even more protection.
– All food exposed to floodwater should be thrown out. All food requiring refrigeration should be thrown out if the power was out more than four hours.
– Remove and discard items that cannot be washed and disinfected (such as, mattresses, carpeting, carpet padding, rugs, upholstered furniture, cosmetics, stuffed animals, baby toys, pillows, foam-rubber items, books, wall coverings, and most paper products).
– Remove and discard drywall and insulation that has been contaminated with sewage or flood waters. This should include materials that are located a foot higher than the high water line.
– Thoroughly clean all hard surfaces (such as flooring, concrete, molding, wood and metal furniture, countertops, appliances, sinks, and other plumbing fixtures) with hot water and laundry or dish detergent.
– Help the drying process by using fans, air conditioning units, and dehumidifiers.
– Be sure your tetanus shot is current. Hand washing with soap and clean water is important when cleaning areas that have been exposed to flood water.
– Wash all clothes worn during the cleanup in hot water and detergent. These clothes should be washed separately from uncontaminated clothes and linens.
– Wash clothes contaminated with flood water in hot water and detergent. It is recommended that a laundromat be used for washing large quantities of clothes and linens.
– Seek immediate medical attention if you become injured or ill.Update Wednesday 7:45 p.m.
The City of Manhattan in collaboration with Riley County and other agencies are establishing a multi-agency resource center at St. Thomas More Church to assist people displaced or otherwise affected by the flash flooding in Wildcat Creek on Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Agency employees will help residents who need to replace documents, access health care and mental health care as well as connect them with other resources available to them.
While the city and county are not taking donations at this time, the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation has created the 2018 Manhattan Flood Recovery Fund to accept donations to help with relief and recovery efforts. Donations can be made at http://www.mcfks.org/flood. Representatives will also be present at the resource center on Friday.
30 residents remain displaced and are staying in the Pottorf Hall emergency shelter in Cico Park. ATA bus will distribute passes at the shelter to help displaced residents get around town free of charge.
The Manhattan City Manager’s Office is coordinating volunteers looking to help those in need. Specifically, they are looking for residents who have storage facilities and are willing to offer them to help store undamaged belongings during the recovery and clean-up. Anyone looking to volunteer or anyone in need of assistance can call the office at (785) 587-2404 during regular business hours.
Poliska Lane remains closed and is estimated to be repaired next week.
A map of power outages can be found on the Westar website at http://outagemap.westarenergy.com/external/default.html. City officials said that residents that are without power but don’t think their property was affected should check their breakers as they may have been tripped during the flood.
Update Wednesday 3:30 p.m.
Riley County Treasurer Shilo Heger spoke with KMAN to clear up how free document replacement would work in Riley County for those who lost necessary documentation to prove their identity and residency as a result of flooding and water damage.
Regarding driver’s licenses and identification card replacements, county employees would ask residents without documentation a series of questions related to their identity and residency that they would match with their records on file. Heger said they would not be able to change any records and that new identification would strictly be a reprint of what was on file.
The process would run roughly the same for residents who need replacement vehicle registration and title documents, but they would also verify the VIN number on record for the vehicle. For those who did not lose all documentation, an insurance card that has the VIN number on it, a plate number or personal identification card would help in the process.
Heger said they would only be able to issue new vehicle documents to the owner of the vehicle and not someone representing them in their absence.
Update Wednesday 1 p.m.
The Kansas Department of Revenue put out a statement that residents in counties under the state of emergency as a result of flooding — currently Riley, Jewell, Kingman, Marshall and Pratt counties — can get replacement car titles and driver’s licenses for free for the next 30 days.
They said applications for vehicle titles and registration receipts can be submitted at residents’ specific county treasurer’s offices. They said replacement driver’s licenses or identification cards can be acquired at any driver’s license office in the state if they have proof of residency in one of the affected counties.
They did not include in their statement what residents who lost all proof of residence can do to obtain replacement identification. KMAN is reaching out to local officials to learn more and is awaiting a response.
More information about titles, registrations, and credentials can be found at https://www.ksrevenue.org/dovindex.html.
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Via Christi Therapy Center on Anderson will be closed indefinitely due to flooding and water damage.
Via Christi is contacting patients to reschedule appointments to their location on Seth Child.
They are not taking walk-in appointments at this time. Those with therapy needs are encouraged to call (785) 587-4235.
Update Tuesday, 5 p.m.
Gov. Jeff Colyer declared a state of emergency in Riley, Jewell, Kingman, Marshall and Pratt Counties on Tuesday. This allows the state to use its personnel and resources to assist with various efforts responding to the flooding and resultant damages in the counties under the declaration.
Additional counties can be added to the declaration as damage is further assessed in those counties.
“Here in Kansas we make it a priority to take care of our neighbors,” said Colyer. “Those impacted by the recent flooding have our full support and we will continue to do whatever is needed to help during this time of emergency.”
189 properties are still without power and will remain without it until city and county crews can assess damages and ensure it is safe to reactivate their power.
Poliska Lane still had standing water on it as of 2 p.m. Tuesday. It will remain closed into next week until it dries and repairs can be made.
Anneberg Park, all park ballparks and all soft-surface trails are closed due to soggy conditions. They’ll remain closed until they can be repaired and debris can be removed.
Update 8:50 p.m.
Flood waters have fully receded at the Evergreen Apartments off of Garden Way.
The City of Manhattan is also reporting that inspections of bridges on Scenic Drive and Fort Riley Boulevard have shown them to be safe for traffic.
Update 5 p.m.
Three hundred people were affected and dozens were trapped in their homes following flash flooding in Wildcat Creek Monday, according to the Riley County Police Department. There were no deaths or serious injuries reported at the media conference at 2 p.m., save for one firefighter injured by a pet. They also estimated that 750 residents still were without power.
The Army Corps of Engineers estimated 8.9 inches of rain fell starting late Sunday and running into Monday morning in Riley County, leading to the extensive flooding in parts of Manhattan as well as in Keats.
Flood sirens sounded around 5:30 to 6 a.m. and evacuations began at Hunters Island, Redbud Estates, Highland Ridge Apartments, and the Evergreen Apartments on Garden Way and other properties according to Manhattan City Manager Ron Fehr.
Manhattan Fire Department Battalion Chief Jason Hudson said crews arrived at Garden Way around 6:30 a.m. and helped people wade through water until it was hip-deep. Within 45 minutes of their arrival, water had risen too high and people had to be evacuated by boat. 60 people were rescued from Redbud, 16 from Highland Ridge, as well as 50 from Garden Way along with 20 pets.
Fehr said the flooding was “one of the most significant events that we’ve experienced” since he’s been in Manhattan and that “things got flooded this time that never got flooded before — even in some of the rural areas.”
“This was a greater than normal event,” Fehr said. “I think we’re saying it’s at least over a 500 year event, probably somewhere in that 700 to 800 year event, we’ll have to see what the data is on that.”
Riley County Emergency Management Director Pat Collins said the situation isn’t over just yet.
“We still got flooding, we got people that are sheltered in place in flooded areas,” said Collins. “Our goal is still to get those people out — they’re safe right now at home, but they probably not going to be able to spend the night there. If we can get them out safely, we’re going to get them out — if we can shelter in place, we’ll shelter them in place and keep them safe.”
Shelter has been set up for displaced people by the American Red Cross at Pottorf Hall in Cico Park and another is being established at Bramlage Coliseum. Fehr said the city and county are not looking for volunteers or donations at this time, but encouraged people looking to help to check with Red Cross officials to see what their needs may be.
Water ran over Scenic Drive and got very high on Fort Riley Boulevard where the roads bridge over Wildcat Creek and are closed until waters recede enough for engineers to inspect them and ensure they are safe for traffic.
Fehr said their next major priority is inspecting flooded areas to ensure they are safe to allow residents to return as well as to reactivate their power.
“If the building was flooded, it’s got to be inspected to make sure it’s safe to be able to turn that power back on otherwise it’s a high fire danger,” said Fehr.
City damage assessment teams will be rolling out this afternoon to begin evaluating properties.
Heavy rains are forecast for the rest of the week, and Collins said they are preparing by taking names of people with flat-bottom boats who are looking to help as they did not have enough boats for the rescue efforts that occurred today. He also urged residents to sign up for phone notifications and warnings through Riley County Emergency Management website.
The flooding also affected various commercial properties. These included the Manhattan Running Company, Powercat Sports Grill, Goblin Games, CSL Plasma and other companies located at the Village Plaza.
Manhattan Running Company owner Ben Sigle said he saw no waters before 6 a.m., but got calls after that the waters were rising. He spoke to KMAN on scene at his store on Garden Way before noon and said he managed to get all of his merchandise out of the way of the waters that found their way into his store.
He said the situation could have been far worse for him and that he doesn’t anticipate too much damage to the property.
“They’ve done a pretty good job of getting all the water out, we’re drying now,” Sigle said. “We’re pretty fortunate to be where we’re at right now, hopefully everybody else is doing just as well as we are. We’re just trying to save stuff here, there’s a lot more important stuff like people that need to be taken care of — stuff can all be replaced.”
Powercat Sports Grill General Manager Bo Harris also spoke with KMAN outside his restaurant. He said they had about 2.5 feet of water in the property.
“We got a lot of rebuilding and remodeling to do,” Harris said. “Could be a couple weeks to a month before we get a lot of that stuff done and ready to go again.”
Original post:
The flash flood warning has been updated to last till 1 pm.
A flash flood warning was issued in Riley County after heavy rain falls beginning Sunday evening.
A flood evacuation notice was issued for properties along Wildcat Creek as well as on Hunters Island through the Northeast Kansas Regional Notification System. Evacuations were also issued for the Pebblebrook apartments, Garden Way apartments and Highland Ridge apartments, Redbud, according to Riley County Emergency Management Director Pat Collins.
Keats and Anderson Avenue were also expected to experience flooding beginning at 8:00 a.m.
People who had to evacuate their homes are being assisted by an evacuation center staffed by American Red Cross volunteers in Pottorf Hall at the fairgrounds at 1710 Avery Avenue.
“Several Red Cross volunteers from our area are staffing the evacuation center to provide a safe place for impacted residents to stay until it is safe for them to return to their homes,” said Jane Blocher, Executive Director of the Capital Area Chapter.
More rain and thunderstorms are forecast in the coming days.
Do not cross roads with waters running over them as your vehicle could be swept away.
KMAN will update as new information becomes available.
Originally posted at https://1350kman.com/update-resource-center-opens-friday-to-assist-flood-victims/
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