Frustrated with what appeared to be consistently incorrect data on the level of the Neosho River, Kansas Rep. Kent Thompson sought a second opinion.
Thompson placed calls to U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran and Congressman Steve Watkins last Friday evening expressing his displeasure with the readouts from the U.S. Corps of Engineers. By Saturday morning, those connections resulted in the United States Geological Survey sending a crew to Iola to collect data.
The action should mean better measurements and predictions in future flood events for Allen County, Thompson told county commissioners at their meeting Tuesday morning.
Local officials concluded river readouts were off the mark when Angela Murphy, director of 911 Services, contacted the Army Corps of Engineers out of Tulsa, which admitted their data was not being based on the most recent measurements. The National Weather Service relies on the Corps for its data.
The level of the Neosho River never rose above 21.38 feet, yet on three separate occasions last week the NWS notified the county that it was going to reach levels of 31 feet.
Talk about scaring the you know what out of us. Tom Williams and I worked out of the office during the 2007 flood and I knew how devastating it was. We were in panic mode and we were tired of getting the bad predictions. It was as simple as getting the USGS here. And thank goodness the congressional delegation stepped up and made calls and Saturday that happened, Thompson said.
Iola City Administrator Sid Fleming said that the numbers the NWS was giving them did not correlate with what they were seeing on ground.
The predictions were probably the most frustrating thing because we would tell them this is what we are seeing and yet you are still predicting this. Nobody was giving us the common sense answer, Fleming said.
Sheriff Bryan Murphy said the numbers never added up and he reached his boiling point when the NWS told him once again the Neosho River was going to crest at 31 feet.
I got a little flippant with the NWS hydrologist. I didnt put it out there because it was like you are telling me our river over the next 20 hours is going to rise 12 feet. That is over seven inches an hour over the next 20 hours. They said, well I have seen it in creeks. I said that is not what I am asking, I am talking about a river, not a creek, Murphy said.
Thompson said that since the 2011 Joplin tornado an EF5 tornado which killed 158 people the NWS, in his opinion, has exaggerated storms to err on the side of caution.
Iola Fire Chief Tim Thyer agreed, stating false reports threatened the City of Iolas, Allen Countys and the NWSs credibility.
EVEN WITH the change, Thompson warned locals not to assume they are out of danger. Water levels are still above flood stages. Any significant amount of rain especially around Emporia could once again send them into panic mode.
Angela Murphy said they have created a response team that keeps in contact with crews in Coffey County as well as Neosho County, alerting each other about local weather events and what to expect as water travels downstream.
IN OTHER NEWS, Commissioners agreed to purchase a 16-foot rescue boat. The county will take sealed bids for a boat until 10 a.m. on June 10.
