Floods in Missouri, but Drought in Kansas

 

(Photo of a burned out railroad bridge in Haskell, County Kansas. Area has had wild fires because of an extended west Kansas drought. Photo: AP pool, John Milburn) 

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback toured drought-stricken southwest Kansas on Wednesday, saying the dry conditions were more dire than he previously thought and hoped the federal government would declare the region a disaster area.

“Some of that looks like a moonscape. It gives more sense of urgency to it,” Brownback said after flying over the area in a Kansas National Guard helicopter and driving along the rural area’s roadways. “It’s the miracle of water. Irrigated land is lush and green. Dryland portions waiting for water are brown and barren.”

Local farmers and other residents said conditions were the worst they’d seen in five decades, and state climatologists said significant rain hasn’t fallen since last summer. The latest U.S. Drought Monitor report shows drought covering more than 45 percent of the state, with extreme drought – the second most severe – in the state’s southwestern corner.

The governor’s visit to Finney, Gray, Haskell and Meade counties followed his request last week that 21 counties be declared disaster areas, which would trigger federal assistance. Brownback, Kansas’ former agriculture secretary, said the state hopes to hear within 10 days from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which could allow ranchers to access conservation lands to allow their cattle to graze and to cut hay.