Although August is typically the time when severe weather and thunderstorms come to a standstill, last week certainly proved otherwise. Heavy rains produced catastrophic flooding, turning streets into rivers and basements into small ponds of mold and mildew.  A recorded nearly 10 inches of rain was reported in Kansas City, Kan. and surrounding areas.  Many residents of Spring Hill were impacted by this unexpected and severe whether.

“[The night of the flooding] I heard footsteps and wondered why it sounded like water. Then my dad walked in around four a.m. and said ‘Don’t freak out, but the basement [and your room] is flooded.’” said Olivia Scroggins, 12.

Along with being an obvious inconvenience to students who were woken up in the early hours of the morning, the flooding also caused a lot of damage to personal belongings within residents’ homes.

“All of our storage is [in the basement.] So whatever was in a cardboard box or whatever wasn’t plastic and was touching the floor was ruined,” recalls Malorie Kuker, 12.

Students were not the only ones affected by this unexpected occurrence. Some staff members also suffered from the effects of the downpour.

“[As a result of the flooding,] we had to rip up all the carpet, get dehumidifiers, tear out a whole bunch of carpet padding, and throw it out,” explained Chantell Volkman, activities director.

Besides being a hassle to homeowners with basements, the flood also inconvenienced students trying to get to school that day and bus drivers trying to run their routes to get students.

“Some buses were not able to run their normal routes and some couldn’t even get to some kids,” explained Bonnie Woltkamp, front office secretary.

Other kids showed up late due to the fact that their buses showed up late. Others had to help their parents minimise the water damage to their homes before being able to show up to school.

“I had to stay home from school [for a while.] I didn’t show up for my first two hours,” said Scroggins.

Students who showed up late that day did not receive any disciplinary tardies that would go against their limit of five per semester and students who could not show up at all were excused for the day, granted their parents called the school to inform them they were in a flooded area.