Flooding adds to destruction extreme weather causes Kansas

? The first half of 2007 has been one to forget for many Kansans as blizzards, deadly tornadoes and now flooding have caused millions of dollars in damages, disrupted lives and put a dent in the state’s economy.

Of the state’s 105 counties, only three – Marion, Atchison and Jefferson – have escaped being designated a disaster area by local, state or federal officials this year.

“We are beginning to wonder what has brought Kansas to the focal point” of severe storms, said Sharon Watson, director of public affairs for Kansas Emergency Management. “We have certainly gotten every type of storm you can have, with the exception of hurricane, and we hope we don’t have one of those.”

State officials are still tallying the damage from last week’s floods, which affected 20 counties in southeast Kansas. So far, emergency management personnel have identified about 3,100 homes destroyed or heavily damaged in five counties alone with a dollar figure to be determined later.

Winter storms that crippled western Kansas earlier this year and a rash of spring tornadoes, including one that largely destroyed Greensburg, have caused more than $1 billion in damages already with the state spending at least half that for recovery efforts.

Much of the damage has occurred in rural areas, which have struggled in recent years because of drought.

Insurance companies are fielding claims for hundreds of millions of dollars, money that temporarily boosts local economies with the rebuilding of homes and the replacement of lost property.

But that doesn’t make up for the original damage.

“Any time wealth is destroyed, we’re all poorer,” said Art Hall, director of Kansas University’s Center for Applied Economics.

Meteorologists said there’s no one cause of this year’s weather mayhem, noting that the blizzards were caused by a strong jet stream while the tornadoes and flooding were driven by a weak jet stream. For the rest of the summer, forecasters predict weather to remain between the extremes.