Severe weather leads Kansas Gov. to issue disaster emergency

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly issued a verbal state of disaster emergency on Monday, after severe thunderstorms, tornadoes and flooding impacted various parts of the Sunflower State from April 25-27.

“Due to the severe storms and flooding that has impacted the state, I’ve declared a disaster emergency to ensure state assistance is readily available if needed,” Governor Laura Kelly said.

Multiple rounds of storms hit Kansas on Saturday, Sunday and into early Monday morning, with rain, damaging wind gusts and flooding occurring in various areas.

With Kelly’s declaration, the Kansas Division of Management activated the State Emergency Operations Center to a Level 2 - Partial Activation stage. Officials said they will continue to monitor the situation and will assist counties and local responders if needed.