Wichita Area Storm Damage

We just had a storm move through about an hour or so ago. It has done quite a bit of damage to the whole city. The scanner is going nonstop:

[link to www.broadcastify.com]

What I've heard so far: Power and light poles down across the city. Roofs blown off. Mobile homes destroyed in Douglas. Windows blown out across the city. Car windows blown out across the city and down in Derby. Large tree limbs down and blocking roads. Power lines down all over the city. Lots of blocked roads and intersections.

There are currently almost 60,000 without power in the city:

[link to outagemap.westarenergy.com]

Anyone else in Wichita online right now with anything to report?

"A storm with hurricane-force winds pounded south central Kansas early Friday, causing widespread damage."

[link to www.kake.com]


EDITED TO ADD these reports:

Some reports from KWCH facebook page:


EDITED TO ADD: 3 injured when mobile home destroyed in Harvey county.

[link to www.kwch.com]

- Tree ripped from ground
- Trampoline up against someone's house and they have no idea where it came from
- Someone lost a shed; debris is in neighbor's yard
- Horse shelter destroyed
- Store roof collapsed and liquid spraying from building
- Cars with trees on them
- Claims of buildings destroyed in Harvey County
- Car windows blown out in Cheney
- Trees fallen over onto houses
- Tree embedded into garage
- Reports of swirling debris witnessed
- Fences down
- Gutters and siding pulled off houses
- Shattered house windows
- Partial building collapse in Newton
- Church roof in road
- House destroyed in Hutchinson
- Porch support beams missing
- Lots of totaled cars from trees
- Shingles off roofs
- People stuck in their neighborhoods with no way to get out
- Lots of people reporting hearing the sounds of a tornado
- Portion of roof of at Kansas Surgery & Recovery Center at K-96 & Webb
- Porch completely disconnected from home and in street in Park City
- Power outages, trees down, collapsed roofs, gas leaks, power lines down, and blocked roads in Newton
- Cheney power outages, trees ripped out of ground, fences down, part of roof off, and damage across town
- I-35 sign in the middle of the street
- Trees down in Haysville
- Shingles off the roof near the Coliseum
- Woman reported being picked up off of porch with debris thrown on top of her
- Entire barn destroyed with debris everywhere
- Restaurant in Newton is heavily damaged with roof caved in
- Trees down in Garden Plain
- Power pole damage in Rose Hill
- Sheet metal all over farm with damage to trailers on the property
- Quite a bit of damage between Wichita and Derby
- Reports of Cox Cable and phone services out
- Roof off at the Walmart on north Rock Road over the lawn and garden center. Reported to be closed.

Lots of people questioning whether this damage was caused by tornados with one person reporting they heard someone on a police scanner saw a tornado touchdown in northeast Wichita and also someone said Fire Department said there was a tornado or a microburst.


EDITED TO ADD just heard on scanner that ambulances cannot gain access to Wesley Medical Center due to downed power lines.


EDITED TO ADD that KWCH is now reporting at least 2 people with serious injuries.

[link to www.facebook.com (secure)]


EDITED TO ADD:
KWCH live stream coverage:

[link to www.kwch.com]


EDITED TO ADD: Local news announced school has been cancelled for the Cities of Wichita and Maize.


EDITED TO ADD city is running out of barricades and sandbags and is trying to get some from surrounding cities heard over the scanner.


EDITED TO ADD Jabara Airport closed until further notice. One hangar demolished with another one sustaining damage.

[link to www.kwch.com]


EDITED TO ADD EMS building sustains heavy damage with 2 paramedics sustaining minor injuries.

[link to www.kwch.com]


EDITED TO ADD Part of St. Joseph Hospital's roof was blown off, as well as part of the roof at Kansas Surgical Center reported on local news.


EDITED TO ADD more injuries being reported in Wichita, Harvey County, and Whitewater on the local news. None of them are serious.


EDITED TO ADD Crews from the Kansas City area are on the way to Wichita to help Westar with their efforts to restore power.

[link to ksn.com]

Local news on the TV just said that it could take days to fully restore power due to all the snapped power poles.

Also, here's a link:

[link to www.kake.com]



EDITED TO ADD Brooks Landfill will be open for free dumping through Tuesday. City officials urged residents to deal with their normal trash hauler to handle tree damage.

[link to www.kake.com]



EDITED TO ADD as of 1:00 a.m. on April 4, 2015, around 13,000 still without power in the Wichita area.

[link to outagemap.westarenergy.com]


EDITED TO ADD as of 2:40 a.m. on April 6, 2015, around 400 are still without power in the Wichita area.

[link to outagemap.westarenergy.com]

Because of an ongoing power outage, Wichita's Jackson Elementary School, near 29th North and Woodlawn, canceled school on Monday. As of Sunday night, the Wichita School District says the school is also without water.

All other schools in USD 259 will be in session on Monday, the district says."

[link to www.kwch.com]


EDITED TO ADD There are still 71 residents without power as of 1:30 a.m. on April 7, 2015, in the Wichita area:

[link to outagemap.westarenergy.com]

"Traffic lights along Woodlawn in Northeast Wichita are working again, they had been out since the storm hit. That should make it easier for parents to get their kids in and out of school at Jackson Elementary Tuesday.

But an electrical crew accidentally hit a water line, so now Jackson has to turn to bottled water until that problem gets fixed.

. . .

Her school has limited water pressure because electrical crews hit a line while digging to put up more power polls.

The district will bring in bottled water for the 420 students that go to Jackson and its staff until that problem is fixed.

. . .

The city has bypassed the broken pipe to return some water pressure to the area, but Pajor says it make take a few days before the problem is fixed."

[link to www.kwch.com]


EDITED TO ADD: With the city just now getting back on it's feet, we are now facing a threat of tornados tomorrow, with the Weather Channel giving us a Torcon of 5:

[link to www.weather.com]

Everyone stay safe!

Also, as of 5:45 p.m. on April 7, 2015, there are still 90 people in the Wichita area who still haven't had power restored since the storm last week:

[link to outagemap.westarenergy.com]


EDITED TO ADD: With storms moving into the City tonight, including storms with the potential for tornados, I just wanted to update the thread one last time with a figure for those who still have no power due to last week's storms: 30 in the Wichita area still without power from last weeks storms as of 4:20 p.m. on April 8, 2015!

[link to outagemap.westarenergy.com]

"With the scene we saw last Friday across Sedgwick County, many are preparing for this storm to potentially be worse.

Wichita Fire Marshall Brad Crisp says the city and Sedgwick County have a good emergency response system.

'We are prepared for this and we hope that everything goes smooth today,' said Crisp."

[link to www.kwch.com]

Last Edited by TrustNoOneKS on 04/08/2015 05:25 PM