OSKALOOSA, Kan. – A storm dumped up to a foot of rain over parts of northeast Kansas (search) early Sunday, sparking flash flooding that left people stranded in their homes and cars, emergency officials said.
The hardest hit areas were Jefferson and Jackson counties, said Joy Moser, spokeswoman for the Kansas Division of Emergency Management (search). About a foot of rain fell overnight in Jefferson County, and up to 10 inches was reported in Jackson County.
Jefferson County officials declared a disaster, and emergency crews were trying to rescue people stranded in the high water, said Don Haynes, the county's director of emergency service.
"The water in the creeks came up, and the homes are surrounded," Haynes said. "Who plans for this kind of rain?
He said emergency crews were checking on stranded residents in several towns.
Moser said a shelter had been opened in an Oskaloosa (search) church and officials were planning for about 100 evacuees.
She said a nursing home in Leavenworth County (search) was evacuated early Sunday and that the Kansas Highway Patrol had rescued a man off his car on Kansas Highway 4. A mobile home also was reported to have washed away in Jackson County, but the home's resident made it out safely.
"But now he's stuck in a tree," Moser said. "They're working to get him out."
Heavy rain was also reported in northwest Missouri, with water over the roads in Platte City, Mo., the National Weather Service said.
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