By Quinn O’Hara
41 roads in Lyon County, Emporia, parts of Osage County, and parts of Franklin County have been closed due to severe flooding. The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for the Counties Wednesday due to excessive rainfall. Most warnings were rescinded by early morning on Thursday the 26th, though some still remain in effect as flood waters in the Neosho and Cottonwood rivers and surrounding waterways are still higher than usual. 

Emporia usually averaged 36 inches of rain annually, but the storm system dumped nearly 10 inches over the city in just two days. Emporia’s City Communications Manager Christine Torrens said Emporia city’s storm drainage system dealt with an estimated 1.7 billion gallons of water due to the storm.