About

There have been a number of memorable flood events within Wyandotte County. The 1951 flood was the result of a deluge of epic proportions. It had been wet all spring and early summer in Kansas, and the rivers were running full. A series of monster storms, beginning July 9th and ending July 13th, left more than a foot of rainfall over much of eastern Kansas. The great flood of 1993 constituted the most costly and devastating flood to ravage the United States in modern history. Levees were broken, farmland, town, and transportation routes were destroyed, thousands of people were forced to abandon their homes, and 47 people died as a direct result of the flood. June 2011 flood had two levee breaches and impending interstate closings.    

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is nearing completion of updates to the floodplain maps, also known as Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM). Preliminary FIRMs are under review for Wyandotte County. The new Flood Insurance Rate Maps reflect updates to Wolf Creek, Brenner Heights Creek, Little Turkey Creek, and Betts Creek. The Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, KS, is hosted a public information open house regarding the new Flood Insurance Rate Maps for residents of Wyandotte County and its communities. July 29th from 4:00—7:00pm at the Edwardsville Community Center located at 696 South 3rd Street, Edwardsville, Kansas. Resources staff and mapping consultants were on hand at the open house to answer your questions.   

The new flood maps took effect in 2015. Flood maps affect how private insurers assess risk to flooding of property, and thus could affect how much money property owners are charged for flood insurance. Some properties in Wyandotte County will be phased out of the areas marked as the flood hazard areas based on better and more reliable data, however, a few properties not previously in the flood hazard area have been added into the flood hazard area. This determination was made by FEMA. Hard copies of the preliminary maps are available for viewing. Questions on the appeal process and timeline can be directed to the Department of Water Resources, Dane Bailey, (785) 296-7769.