Wichita schools closed after water main break, boil advisory

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas’ largest city is under a water boil order after a large water main break, leading Wichita-area schools to close and prompting residents to make a run on bottled water. The city ordered the boil advisory Thursday afternoon, affecting its nearly 400,000 residents and some surrounding communities, following the break of a 42-inch main on Wichita’s north side. Mayor Brandon Whipple asked residents not to hoard bottled water, but many area store shelves were wiped out of water by late Thursday. The advisory is to remain in effect until testing shows the city’s water is safe. Officials hope to be able to lift the order at some point this weekend.