KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Wednesday's morning storm raced through the metro, packing a punch.
Strong winds brought down power lines leaving thousands in the dark.
Three people had to be rescued from two vehicles that became submerged on North Chouteau Trafficway near North Belmont Boulevard in Kansas City, Missouri, on Wednesday.
Employees that work in the area said flooding is a common occurrence.
Witnesses told 41 Action News that semi trailers and pickup trucks are usually able to get through the flooded area, but the water is too high for cars.
They said that a red car became trapped in the water when traveling north on North Chouteau Trafficway, and the fire department had to rescue a woman and a child from that vehicle.
A black vehicle was traveling south on the same road, and witnesses said they warned the driver not to attempt to drive through the water, but they were ignored. The fire department also had to rescue the female driver of that car.
"We told her don’t do it, don’t do it she came up about halfway through it started floating ended up calling 911," Joe Tanner told 41 Action News.
Jason St. John was live on Facebook as firefighters pulled the woman out of the car.
"It’s a normal sight for me this place always floods I mean our power is out so we’re just kind of hanging out—a little entertainment for the day," St. John said.
KC Water has since put barriers up to prevent more cars from entering the flooded roadway, but many drivers ignored them and continued on their way. Several of them became stuck and had to be pushed or pulled out.
Driver of the Jeep pushed his stalled vehicle out of the water. Some good samaritans helped pull the stalled truck out of the high waters. @41actionnews pic.twitter.com/QHUsEY4m5N
— Andres Gutierrez (@AFGutierrez) July 10, 2019
Kansas City Fire Department Deputy Chief Jimmy Walker said his department handled around 10 water rescues following Wednesday's storms.
Walker also said firefighters responded to three working fires, though the causes of each were still under investigation.
"I had my front door open and the rain was blowing, and the wind was blowing," Mary Rowland, whose house caught fire said.
Rowland said a tree limb struck a transformer outside her house on Sni-A-Bar Road, then she smelled smoke.
"I just opened the door and seen from where I was standing the curtains in the basement were on fire," Rowland said.
KCFD along with the Raytown Fire Protection District quickly extinguished the flames.
