Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First

Storm causes damage, flooding in Kimball County

More than 6 inches of rain in about half an hour wreaked havoc Monday night in Kimball County, according to Kimball County Sheriff Deputy Brandon Loy.

The event began with light rain early Monday evening, but progressed quickly and lasted through the early morning hours Tuesday.

There was up to a foot of flood water in spots throughout the county, Loy said, and the previously saturated ground could not absorb more.

"Though funnel clouds were reported in Banner County, the storm lacked the structure and circulation to produce the tornadoes. It then dropped in height rapidly producing the heavy wind, but taking out the tornado threat in our area," Loy said.

Kimball City Administrator Daniel Ortiz added that more than 5 inches of rain in such a short amount of time overwhelmed the drainage systems at the underpass, causing rising waters.

Though barricades were placed on each side of the underpass, one person driving a Wyoming vehicle circumvented those barriers and it became inoperable in the flooded underpass.

"Flooding at the underpass happens every six or seven years, it seems," Kimball Street Superintendent Jim Shoup said. "I would say back in probably 2008 there was a van in there, and you couldn't see in there."

Ortiz said the Kimball Volunteer Fire Department was dispatched to the underpass and Shoup entered the rising waters to ensure that no one was trapped in the vehicle.

The vehicle, which impeded traffic and posed a danger, was towed from the scene early Tuesday morning as the flood waters receded.

Additionally, the cement ditch that runs the length of north Myrtle will need repairs as the force of water from the west got behind the concrete wall and pushed it into itself, according to Shoup.

"It's still functional," Shoup said. "Water was clear to the top of the cement and further down it washed out part of the road down there."

Storm waters ran to the height of that ditch, well over 6 feet deep. In some places at the end of north Myrtle, water actually ran over the edge and flooded roads.

Kimball County Highway Superintendent Dave Hottell said that nearly all county roads within five miles north or south of Highway 30 and Interstate 80 east of Kimball are damaged.

Closed county roads will be barricaded and those that have been determined unsafe are flagged.

"I guess I would suggest drivers use extreme caution," Hottell said Tuesday afternoon.

Though no injuries or fatalities were reported, personal property damage is accumulating. In addition to the vehicle that attempted to pass through the flooded underpass, the Motel Kimball lost a carport in the storm.

"I was securing items in the breezeway," Motel Kimball owner Gloria Rutledge said. "I heard a terrible crash and thought that the roof was gone."

It was not the roof, but their carport was lifted, flipped upside down, and deposited onto the motel roof.

"We think we caught the tail end of a twister," Rutledge said.

"It was more of a micro burst, when the storm collapses," Loy added. "That storm dropped about 10,000 feet in 30 seconds and that produced the micro burst that came through, but it didn't have the damage pattern of a tornado."

The storm tore huge branches from the trees behind the motel, as it did all around Kimball. It flipped appliances over, throwing them out of the way, but left the patio furniture untouched.

As many roads remain impassable at press time, city crews will continue assessing damage and cleaning up while they wait for the mud that clogs the underpass drains to dry.

They will then sweep that away as well, and they may assist in a city-wide clean-up at a later date, Shoup said.

"We'll have to see what the administrator wants us to do," Shoup said. He also encourages citizens to call the city offices to report any concerns or needs at 308-235-3639.

 
 
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