July 2007 Flood

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" rowspan="2" width=200 BGCOLOR="#FFCC66" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="03fc8c00dkelyh.png"> <div> <B> </B></div> <div> <A HREF="id286.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Flood Was 54 Years Ago"><B><IMG SRC="0410b120.png" border=0 width="11" height="18" ALT="previous" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></A><B>   </B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="18" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="11"><B>     </B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="18" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="18"><B>  </B><A HREF="id91.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Flood of 51"><B><IMG SRC="04312120.png" border=0 width="18" height="18" ALT="up" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></A></div> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="77" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 30 WIDTH="71"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="30" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="71" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <div> <I><B>Ottawa Herald Article </B></I></div> <div> <I><B>and  photographs</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>contributed by </B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Jim Corcoran</B></I></div> </td> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=94 BGCOLOR="#FF3300" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="0403c5e1dvmwlb.png"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B>Ottawa High School Class of '57</B></FONT><B>     |    </B><B> </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ottawa High School Class of 57"><B>home</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id170.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Pictures of the 1951 Flood">Pictures of the 1951 Flood</A>   |   <A HREF="id286.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Flood Was 54 Years Ago">Flood Was 54 Years Ago</A>   |   <B>July 2007 Flood</B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=386 width="100%" colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>July 2007 Flood</I></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Record Flooding in Ottawa, Kansas</B></div> <div> By CLEON RICKEL, Herald Senior Writer</div> <div> The<B> Ottawa Herald,</B> Ottawa, Kansas, Monday, July 2, 2007</div> <bR> <div> The Marais des Cygnes River had dropped to slightly more than 37 feet this morning after reaching a near-historic high of 41 feet at Ottawa Sunday, forcing evacuations and rescues in Ottawa and around Franklin County this weekend.</div> <bR> <div> No deaths or injuries were reported, although authorities had to stage several rescues from houses and vehicles during the weekend and at least one today.  The city water plant reported more than 10 inches of rain falling on Ottawa since Tuesday, although city authorities said this morning that some parts of the city received nearly 13 inches of rain.  K-68 was closed west of Ottawa this weekend and the city floodgates across U.S. 59 were closed.</div> <bR> <div> “This is as worse as I've ever seen,” Sheriff Craig Davis said. Davis said he had never seen the K-68 and Eisenhower Road intersection flooded.  According to U.S. Geological Survey data, the Marais des Cygnes reached the third highest flood stage on record this weekend.</div> <bR> <div> <B>EVACUATIONS</B></div> <div> Several people in Ottawa and Franklin County had to be evacuated from their homes during the weekend as flood waters increased, Alan Radcliffe, Franklin County emergency management director, said.</div> <bR> <div> About 15 to 20 homes in Ottawa had to be evacuated, mostly from the eastern part of the city, he said.  The Hughes Dairy along Eisenhower Road on the west edge of the city had to be evacuated-people and cows alike, he said.</div> <bR> <div> Ten to 15 homes in Rantoul, 15 homes at Lane, about 10 west of Ottawa along K-68 and a few others elsewhere in the county had to be evacuated, Radcliffe said.  Although an emergency Red Cross shelter has been established at Celebration Hall, most of the city's motels have been able to accommodate evacuees, he said.  Crews had to stage several rescues and monitored families trapped by rising waters.</div> <bR> <div> One of the more tense rescues occurred Saturday afternoon when Pomona and Lincoln-Ottawa-Harrison fire fighters had to rescue people near 1200 Labette Road in Greenwood Township, Radcliffe said.  The vehicle drove into high water and was washed off the road, he said.  Another family living near Lane was stranded because of high water. The Pottawatomie Township Fire Department monitored throughout weekend, according to the sheriff's department.  Another family west of Ottawa also was marooned and monitored by the sheriff's department during the weekend.</div> <bR> <div> <B>OVERWORKED PUMPS</B></div> <div> Parts of Ottawa remained flooded this morning as the city's three flood pumps struggled to deal with rainfall in the double digits.  The deluge overwhelmed the city's flood pumps, which have been operating since 7 p.m. Thursday, Andy Haney, city public works director, said.  At one point, the city called in an Ottawa Fire Department pumper truck to help pump backed up water Saturday. Normally, storm water drains through flood gates into the river.  However, when the river levels rise, the city has to use three flood pumps to push water across the levee system into the river.  So much rain fell that storm water backed up, causing flooding in some parts of the city. “The water has covered some floors of some houses in the northern part of the city,” Haney said.  The Willow Street pumping station, which serves the western part of the city, had caught up. “We're still working on the water at the Skunk Run station and the north flood pump,” Haney said.</div> <bR> <div> <B>ELECTRIC SERVICE</B></div> <div> City utility crews are on-site at all utility locations, Jim Bradley, city utilities director, said.  The transformer at 10<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >th</FONT> & Burrough was taken off-line this morning at 9 a.m., he said. However, no power services have been lost in the community, he said.</div> <div> <B>TRAFFIC CONCERNS</B></div> <div> At K-68 and Eisenhower Road, officers had to be stationed at the intersection Saturday because drivers insisted on driving around barricades, Davis said.  At one point, deputies and Ottawa police officers had to rescue two adults and three children after the driver ignored signs and drove into high water, he said.  Two vehicles slid off I-35 as a result of water on the road, Davis reported.  Rescuers also had to pick up people stranded in houses at 2100 Ohio Road, 1900 K-68; and 2000 K-68.  At K-68 and Idaho Road, a boat capsized Saturday but all of the people were OK, Davis reported.</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="7c620580.png" border=0 width="800" height="600" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <B>Main Street at the bridge -- Closed!</B></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="7c558960.png" border=0 width="600" height="406" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <IMG SRC="7cac8850.png" border=0 width="200" height="133" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">  <IMG SRC="7cb78870.png" border=0 width="120" height="135" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"><IMG SRC="7cc5a870.png" border=0 width="90" height="135" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>