KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Those who live in the area of 103rd and Wornall say they’ve seen a rise in flooding recently, and they believe one expanded business is to blame.
They say they’ve been couch surfing for three weeks, and now after last night’s flooding, they don’t see their situation changing any time soon.
“July 21st was bad enough, this was significantly more,” said Jacque Lancaster, one homeowner.
“We’ve been homeless, bouncing from couch to couch,” another homeowner, Gail Stevens, said.
Residents who live near 103rd and Wornall — right by Indian Creek and behind the QuikTrip — say the flooding has been worse than ever and everything in their name has been destroyed.
“I lost my car in the original flood. I lost my home, my 10-year-old daughter lost her home, our dog died, we’ve lost enough,” Lancaster said.
“Everything in the home was destroyed, nothing left. Not even a toothbrush,” Stevens added.
Neighbors said the flooding recently has been unprecedented, but they say they know why, and how it could have been avoided.
“Before QuikTrip raised their property, it had not flooded,” said Lancaster. “From day one, we fought it all the way through court; we knew this was going to happen. They were allowed to put up a berm to protect them, to slant their yard so the water came to us. We fought as much as homeowners and a neighborhood can. Everyone was against it except for the city who saw money from QT.”
“We knew it would happen with the elevation, and more and more concrete up and down Indian Creek and nothing is being done. The water’s gotta go somewhere,” Stevens said.
According to the city, this year Kansas City voters approved a 20-year program to fund infrastructure repairs that includes many flood control projects.
Indian Creek flood control is on the list for future improvements, and the successful bond election could speed up the process.
But it isn’t happening soon enough for these people.
“I’m still making a house payment on a house I can’t live in,” Stevens explained.
A spokesman for QuickTrip released this statement:
“QuikTrip like many other businesses and residents have been busy, recovering from the torrential rains and the historic flooding of Indian Creek, which we understand set a new record of 28.22 feet overnight. With all due respect, the entire area has experienced damage including our store from the forces of Mother Nature.”
