Spring showers started during mid-April, but rather than bringing May flowers, the heavy rain kept coming until mid-August.
The constant rain adversely affected residents and the landscape of Kirksville. An overabundance of water caused lasting damage that not only affected the town during the storms, but will continue to affect the community during the months to come.
Between the summer months of May and August, Kirksville receives 19.92 inches of precipitation on average, according to usclimatedata.com. During those months this summer, however, Kirksville had 34.87 inches, according to the website. The amount of precipitation led to Adair County being declared a disaster area by FEMA, according to a press release on the website.
Senior Ciera Utter said she moved into her apartment May 18 and said the storms started during the first week. Utter said she didn’t have much trouble with power outages or fallen tree limbs, but she noticed some flooding in her living room. Her landlords said the flooding was from the air conditioner, but Utter said she saw mold growing in her bathroom, and on her clothes and shoes.
Utter said her landlords continued to argue the issue, claiming it was just mildew and cleaning the bathroom would solve the problem. Utter said she had her apartment tested for mold by a local company.
Utter said the test results came back revealing high spore counts. She said the inspector told Utter that all contents needed to be cleaned and items with visible mold must be discarded.
To find out how the summer storms further affected the Kirksville area, read the rest on Issuu.