Wichita Flood Events Timeline
This timeline records Wichita flood events from official and local sources, starting with Arkansas River flood history and the Sedgwick County floodway, and continuing to the National Weather Service Wichita events of 3 June 2025 and 25-26 June 2026. It is updated after each National Weather Service summary, and it is not a complete history of every flood in Wichita.
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What does this timeline cover, and what does it leave out?
This timeline covers flood events in Wichita that are recorded in the sources listed at the end of this page: Arkansas River historic floods from the USGS, background on the Sedgwick County floodway, and two National Weather Service Wichita events, on 3 June 2025 and on 25-26 June 2026. It leaves out events that are not in those sources, and it does not claim to list every flood that has ever touched Wichita. A timeline that pretended to be complete, while built from a small set of sources, would mislead homeowners about streets and homes it never checked. Each entry below names what is known, what source it comes from, and where the record runs out.
Where a specific historic date is not in the allowed sources, the entry says so and points to the USGS historic-floods page in general, rather than inventing a date. That honesty matters for a homeowner who wants to know whether a home has flooded before. A guessed date, repeated across the web, can look like a fact within a year. A plain statement that no date is claimed here keeps the record clean. ICT Water Pros serves the Wichita metro, including ZIP codes 67202-67220, 67223, 67226, 67227, 67228, 67230, 67232, 67235, and 67260.
What is the Arkansas River flood history in Wichita?
The Arkansas River runs through Wichita, and its flood history shapes how the city thinks about water. The US Geological Survey keeps a page on historic floods along the Arkansas River, and that page is linked in the sources below as the general record for the river’s past floods. This timeline does not pull a specific historic date from that page, because no specific historic date is in the facts allowed for this page, and inventing one would break the rule this timeline is built on: dated entries only from project sources.
What can be said plainly is that the river has flooded in the past, that those floods are part of why Wichita built flood protection, and that homeowners near the river and its tributaries still ask about past water levels when they buy or repair a home. If you need a specific historic river level or date for a property decision, the USGS page and the Sedgwick County flood records are the places to look, and our team or your insurer can help you read what those records mean for a single address. This page points you to those records rather than restating them with dates it cannot support.
What is the Sedgwick County floodway, and why was it built?
The Sedgwick County floodway, often called the Big Ditch, is a channel built to carry floodwater around Wichita and keep it away from homes and streets in the city. It is linked to the MS Mitch Mitchell Floodway name in county flood material, and the Sedgwick County water and stormwater factsheet, linked below, gives background on flood and stormwater in the county. The floodway is a piece of the city’s flood story that every Wichita homeowner benefits from, whether they know its name or not, because it changes where floodwater goes when the river runs high.
A floodway does not end flood risk for every home. Rain that falls on one neighbourhood can still flood streets, basements, and low ground far from the river, as the June 2026 storm showed. The floodway handles river water; it does not stop heavy rain from pooling on a street, backing up a drain, or finding a basement window. That distinction is worth holding onto when reading this timeline. River floods and rain floods are different problems, they arrive in different ways, and a home can face one without facing the other.
What happened on 3 June 2025 in Wichita?
The National Weather Service in Wichita recorded an event on 3 June 2025, and its event summary is linked in the sources below. This timeline records that event as a dated National Weather Service entry, and points readers to the official summary for the details of what happened that day. Recording the event here matters because it shows that major Wichita water events are not a one-year story. A storm in June 2025 and another in June 2026, a year apart, together make the case that Wichita homeowners face this risk in more than one season.
Homeowners who lived through the June 2025 event often ask the same questions after the next storm: did the same streets flood, did the same basements take water, and did the same roof leaks return. This timeline cannot answer those street-by-street questions from its sources, and it does not try. What it can do is keep the dated record in one place, so a homeowner, our team, or an insurer can start from the official summary and work outward to the facts for a single home.
What happened on 25-26 June 2026 in Wichita?
On 25-26 June 2026, heavy rain fell across the Wichita area overnight and set off a flash flood emergency. KSN reported up to 6 inches of rain overnight across the Wichita area, and 911 took more than 100 flooded-vehicle calls during the event. Wichita Fire ran 180 calls in 10 hours, and 60 percent of those calls were water-related. Cars were submerged on flooded roads, and drivers needed rescue from vehicles caught in rising water. The National Weather Service in Wichita recorded the same event, and its summary is linked below.
For homeowners, the same night of rain that flooded streets also pushed water into basements, through roof leaks, and around doors and windows. Wet materials can start to grow mold within 24 to 48 hours, according to CDC and EPA guidance, so the days after the storm were the days when drying mattered most. The June 2026 event is the most detailed entry in this timeline because it has both an official National Weather Service record and local reporting with numbers that can be checked. That combination is what makes an entry useful after the fact.
How is this timeline updated?
This timeline is updated after each National Weather Service summary for a Wichita flood or major storm event. A new entry is added once the official summary and local reporting are available to check against, and it names the date, what was reported, and the source. Entries are not added during a storm, and this timeline is not a live alert feed. If a storm is happening now, check the National Weather Service in Wichita and local news outlets for warnings in progress, and if your home has water damage, call our team rather than waiting for the next timeline entry.
Older entries are not rewritten to fit a new storm. If a later report corrects an early number, the correction is noted in the entry itself. That way the timeline stays a record of what was known and when, rather than a story smoothed out in hindsight. A homeowner reading back through the entries can see the pattern plainly: river history, a floodway built to carry water around the city, a June 2025 event, and a June 2026 night when 6 inches of rain turned streets into waterways.
How do past flood events help a homeowner today?
Past flood events help a homeowner today by showing what kind of water problem to expect, and where to look first. A home near the Arkansas River faces a different question from a home on a low street that ponds in heavy rain, and a home with a basement faces a different question from a home on a slab. Reading the timeline with your own home in mind helps you ask our team the right questions: has this street flooded before, does water come through the basement, the roof, or the ground floor, and what drying was needed last time.
Past events also help with practical steps after a storm. If you know your area took water in June 2026, you can check the same rooms first after the next storm, photograph the same walls and floors, and call for help with a clearer description of the problem. You can call ICT Water Pros at (316) 205-2900. Our location line is Downtown Wichita Area · Wichita, KS 67202. When you call ICT Water Pros, our own team takes your call. No Wichita prices have been published that could be found, so this page does not quote a local price. National benchmarks, such as about $3,455 from Bob Vila in May 2023 and about $3,867 from PushLeads in 2026, are NATIONAL figures only.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this a complete history of Wichita floods?
No, it is not a complete history. It records only the entries in its listed sources: Arkansas River history, the Sedgwick County floodway, and the NWS Wichita events of 3 June 2025 and 25-26 June 2026. It is updated after each National Weather Service summary.
Why are no specific historic Arkansas River flood dates given?
No specific historic date is in the facts allowed for this page, so none is claimed. The entry points to the USGS historic-floods page in general, where readers can check the official record, rather than inventing a date.
What is the Big Ditch?
The Big Ditch is the common name for the Sedgwick County floodway, also linked to the MS Mitch Mitchell Floodway name. It is a channel built to carry floodwater around Wichita and away from homes and streets in the city.
What happened in Wichita in June 2026?
Heavy rain of up to 6 inches overnight set off a flash flood emergency on 25-26 June 2026. KSN reported more than 100 flooded-vehicle calls to 911, and Wichita Fire ran 180 calls in 10 hours, 60% of them water-related.
Does ICT Water Pros give flood warnings?
No. This timeline is updated after National Weather Service summaries, not during a storm, and it is not a live alert feed. For warnings in progress, check the National Weather Service in Wichita or local news outlets.
Sources
- USGS – Historic floods along the Arkansas River. https://www.usgs.gov/centers/central-plains-water-science-center/historic-floods-along-arkansas-river — USGS page on historic Arkansas River floods; no specific historic date is claimed on this page.
- Sedgwick County – Water and stormwater factsheet. https://www.sedgwickcounty.org/media/29164/water-and-stormwater-factsheet.pdf — Sedgwick County flood and stormwater background, including the floodway.
- National Weather Service Wichita – 25-26 June 2026 event. https://www.weather.gov/ict/event_20260625 — NWS Wichita event summary for the June 2026 storm.
- National Weather Service Wichita – 3 June 2025 event. https://www.weather.gov/index.php/ict/event_20250603 — NWS Wichita event summary for the June 2025 event.
- KSN – Heavy rain leads to flash flood emergency in Wichita. https://www.ksn.com/weather/weather-stories/heavy-rain-leads-to-flash-flood-emergency-in-wichita-several-cars-submerged/ — KSN report on the June 2026 Wichita flooding, including rainfall and emergency calls.
- Audacy KNSS – Flash flood emergency in Wichita. https://audacy.com/knss/news/local/flash-flood-emergency-wichita — Local report on the June 2026 Wichita flash flood emergency.
- EPA – Brief guide to mold, moisture and your home. https://www.epa.gov/mold/brief-guide-mold-moisture-and-your-home — EPA guidance on mold growth on wet materials.
- CDC – Homeowners and renters guide to mold. https://www.cdc.gov/mold-health/media/Homeowners_and_Renters_Guide.pdf — CDC guidance on mold in homes after water damage.
Service area: ICT Water Pros serves the Wichita metro across 27 ZIP codes: 67202–67220, 67223, 67226, 67227, 67228, 67230, 67232, 67235, 67260. Location line: Downtown Wichita Area · Wichita, KS 67202. No street address is claimed.
Last reviewed: 2026-10-26
Related pages: ICT Water Pros home · How it works · Water damage cost in Wichita · First 60 minutes after water damage · Mold after water damage · Wichita flood-prone areas · Flood cleanup
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