CRAWFORD COUNTY, Kan. — Rain, rain, and more rain. Relentless showers slammed the Crawford County and Four-State area over the weekend, fueling dangerous flash flooding across the county.

According to the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS), a network of thousands of volunteer weather observers, the Crawford County area experienced some of the heaviest rainfall totals in the state.

At 11:45 p.m. on Saturday, observers recorded 4.20 inches in Pittsburg. Just over seven hours later, at 7 a.m. on Sunday, CoCoRaHS recorded rainfall totals of 5.90 inches in Girard, 4.65 inches in Pittsburg, 3.46 inches in Cherokee, and 1.37 inches in Farlington.

The heavy rain, accompanied by some strong winds, widespread flash flooding and the closing of several roads and bridges. One of which was noted by the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office Sunday morning near Opolis. At S. 260th St. and W. 1st St., just shortly after midnight, a vehicle was swept away by the waters and into a ditch, where it became submerged. A Sheriff’s deputy rescued the driver from the rising waters.

Crawford County Emergency Management Director Quinton Parsons reminded residents to stay away from the roadways during heavy rainfall periods.

“I know everyone wants to see the flood areas and drive around in it but do not drive through flooded areas,” he said. “Turn around, don’t drown. I know it sounds simple but Pittsburg Fire and one of our deputies, they were very busy doing some water rescues, water assists. So, don’t drive in flooded areas. You don’t know where the actual road is, you don’t know how deep it is, and even a couple of inches can sweep your car away.

“... Even if you have insurance, I recommend reporting damages from these storms. You can go to my Facebook page (facebook.com/crcoksem) and there’s a link to the website where you can report your damage, or they can call or text the state number (785-217-7233). Even if there’s water in their basement and they are going to have to call somebody, I just recommend reporting it all.”

Parsons added that the western portion of Crawford County continued to experience flooding into Monday afternoon with road and bridge workers staying busy from the weekend into the weekday.

“I really want to shout out all the first responders and the road and bridge crews, they worked extremely hard this weekend,” he said. “We got a little bit of winds. That storm seemed to just sit on Pittsburg, and we got all the rain and (southwest Missouri/Cherokee County) got all the wind portion.”

Additional tips before, during, and after a flood courtesy of The Weather Channel are to stay informed, create a communication plan, charge all electronics, assemble an emergency kit, get to higher ground, disconnect appliances, avoid floodwaters, avoid disaster areas, heed road closure signs, and contact your family and loved ones.

The Four-State area also experienced tornado warnings as well as straight-line high winds, which reached upwards of 80 miles per hour in some areas. Public storm shelters in Crawford County are located at R.V. Haderlein Elementary (Girard, through the west side glass doors), Northeast High School (Arma), Cherokee (northwest corner of Vine and Cedar), and Farlington Lake (east side of the lake).

Pittsburg, Frontenac, McCune, Walnut, Arcadia, Mulberry, and Hepler do not have public storm shelters at this time, according to Crawford County Emergency Management.

For more information, visit crawfordcountykansas.org/emergency-management.html or email qparsons@crawfordcountykansas.org.

This reporting is made possible, in part, by the Support Local Journalism Project Fund. Learn more at: southeastkansas.org/Localnews.