Hodgeman and Linn Counties have been added to the state of disaster declaration signed by Governor Laura Kelly on May 9, bringing the total to 49 counties. The declaration also includes: Allen, Anderson, Barber, Barton, Butler, Chase, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Clark, Clay, Cloud, Coffey, Comanche, Cowley, Crawford, Dickinson, Doniphan, Elk, Franklin, Geary, Greenwood, Harvey, Jefferson, Kingman, Lincoln, Lyon, Marion, Marshall, McPherson, Meade, Montgomery, Morris, Neosho, Osage, Ottawa, Pawnee, Pottawatomie, Pratt, Reno, Rice, Riley, Rush, Saline, Sumner, Wabaunsee, Wilson, and Woodson. On this Memorial Day, as we work with flood impacted communities, we will also remember the service men and women who gave their lives for this country, said Kelly. We will honor their sacrifice through our work together to ensure our fellow Kansans safety. The Red Cross is operating two shelters in Montgomery County (Memorial Hall, 410 N. Pennsylvania, Independence and First Southern Baptist Church, 2701 W 8thSt., Coffeyville) and Wilson County (City Hall, 1407 North 8th Street, Neodesha). Five shelters are on standby in Dickinson, Jefferson, Neosho, and Saline Counties. A pet shelter is also operational in Montgomery County at Memorial Hall, 410 N Penn, Independence. Three pet shelters are on standby in Jefferson and Neosho Counties. The Kansas National Guard continues to haul pallets of water and to assist local authorities with evacuations. The Kansas National Guard has prepositioned high wheeled vehicles and personnel at designated positions throughout the affected areas. Airmen from the Kansas National Guards 184th Intelligence Wings Unclassified Processing Assessment and Dissemination (UPAD) continue to support KDEM with geospatial imagery. The Kansas Highway Patrol is doing aerial flood damage assessment using their Bell 407 helicopter. KDEM is also coordinating Incident Management Teams and Emergency Operations Center support to impacted counties. Flooding continues to impact roadways across Kansas. Updated road information can be found atwww.KanDrive.org. The site displays information from KDOTs traveler information technology, including highway cameras, dynamic message signs, traffic management centers and 511 phone, online and mobile (http://511mm.ksdot.org). The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is providing four water pumps, manual sandbag machines, approximately 173,000 sandbags and Hesco barriers. The State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) in Topeka remains activated to monitor weather conditions across the state and respond to requests for assistance due to widespread severe storms and flooding. It will remain activated 24/7 until further notice.
State and Federal agencies that have reported to the SEOC are Kansas Division of Emergency Management, Kansas National Guard, Civil Air Patrol, Office of the State Fire Marshal, Kansas Highway Patrol, Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Department for Children and Families, Kansas Department of Transportation, Kansas Water Office, National Weather Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and FEMA. Other partners in the SEOC are the American Red Cross and support from Ohio, Maryland, North Carolina and Tennessee through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact.