By Sarah Green
KHI News Service
COFFEYVILLE, July 16
It has been two weeks since flood waters covered Coffeyville and surrounding southeast Kansas towns. Now, residents are battling high temperatures as they return to their homes and clean up the damage.
More than thirty residents remain in emergency shelters in Coffeyville, which was one of the hardest-hit areas, said John Sidwell, a public information officer with the state”s incident management team which was deployed to the city. At least 647 homes in Montgomery County alone were damaged, he said, ranging from flood-stained foundations to complete destruction.
Electricity here has been restored and “boil water” advisories have been lifted, though the city”s water treatment plants were damaged in the flood, Sidwell said. Ice and water have been dispensed throughout the town to help people combat the heat.
Those able to return to their homes are finding oil- and water-soaked belongings and in many cases, rotting food.
Workers with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment”s food safety division traveled to Coffeyville last week on the first day they could safely enter restaurants and other establishments, said KDHE spokesman Mike Heideman.
“We have run into some problems with grocery stores, convenience stores and restaurants that have food still inside, where people have been going in and taking some of it,” Sidwell said. “We”re extremely concerned about the health risk there.”
High heat and humidity are also contributing to mold growth, Sidwell said. Areas of pooling water are being treated with larvicide to keep the mosquito population down.
Residents and clean-up crews received so-called
“flood buckets” full of household cleaning supplies, including face masks, gloves and hand sanitizer, Sidwell said. They were also able to take advantage of tetanus shot clinics held throughout the county.
In neighboring Wilson County, about 900 people received tetanus vaccinations in the first week after the flood, said a spokeswoman from the Wilson County Hospital in Neodesha. There have been “very few” injuries caused by flooding, she said, and those were generally abrasions, lacerations and puncture wounds.
Oil damage
There”s still no official estimate of how much oil leaked from a storage facility at the Coffeyville Resources Refining and Marketing plant, Sidwell said. But some lawsuits filed against the company claim more than 71,000 gallons were spilled.
The Environmental Protection Agency signed an agreement with the refinery last week to oversee the company”s efforts to contain and clean up the oil spill.
Early air and water samples released by the EPA last week showed low levels of contaminants found in oil and gasoline
most below the levels considered dangerous to long term health.
-Sarah Green is a staff writer for KHI News Service, which specializes in coverage of health issues facing Kansans. She can be reached at
sgreen@khi.org
or at 785-233-5443, ext. 118.