PROJECT ALERT NOTICE (MO) Heavy rains and flooding in Kansas City metro area

Date: Wed, 23 Aug 2017 10:42:09 EDT

Summary: Locally heavy rainfall amounts of 8 to 10 inches causes historic flooding in Kansas City, MO and surrounding metro area.

Locally heavy rainfall amounts of 8 to 10 inches August 21 and overnight into August 22 causes historic stage levels and flash flooding in Kansas City, MO and surrounding metro area. To complicate matters, this occurred over saturated ground as this was the second such event in the past 30-days. Total reported rainfall at some USGS gages in the area (e.g. Brush Creek Ward Pkwy 06893557) for the past 30-days approaching 20 inches.
Flooding is mostly confined to the Blue River, Little Blue River, and South Grand River basins and tributaries.
In Kansas City alone, police and firefighters responded to over 270 water-related calls, 62 of which resulted in water rescues. The surrounding communities on both the Missouri and Kansas sides of the state line reporting similar occurrences.
One death confirmed so far, resulted from a car being swept away by rushing water. Property damage is significant.
Many, if not most, gages on the Blue and Little Blue River experienced peaks of record.
One gage, the Little Blue River at Lee's Summit Road in Independence (06893820), was completely submerged and destroyed.
During this event the Lees Summit Field Office of the MOWSC had been, and remains, in constant contact with our stakeholders and cooperators including, but not limited too, the US Army Corps of Engineers, the National Weather Service, the City of Kansas City Water Services Department, and the City of Independence, MO.