PRAIRIE VILLAGE, Mo. — KSHB 41 spent a lot of time in neighborhoods hit hard by storms two weeks ago. We wanted to check back and see how clean up and repair work are going.
Prairie Village was one of the cities hit hard by the powerful winds that toppled trees and ruined roofs.
Driving through the neighborhoods, it's apparent homeowners worked hard to get broken limbs and tree trunks to curbs.
“When you hear over 50 homes potentially damaged, at least ten couldn’t stay in they were deemed unsafe, initially the amount of large trees fallen not normal for a large storm in Prairie Village,” said Keith Bredehoeft of the city's public works department.
A Prairie Village resident was amazed by the amount of debris left by the storms.
“With the heaviness of the branches, there was so much more coming down. I think it was harder for the crews to get everything back up,” said Deb Brown.
Brown’s neighborhood off Roe Avenue was filled with gnarled, weather-torn piles.
“I call it the Friday everyone survived,” Brown said. “It was a really serious situation where a family was in their car when the tree came down and fortunately everyone survived that and it was really truly miraculous.”
City Administrator Wes Jordan estimates $500,000-$750,000 of damage was done.
The cleanup continues, as do online updates detailing which zone they’re working in while they pick up brush for at least the next few weeks.
“A significant storm may be the most significant as long as large trunks and large limbs go,” said Jordan. “This may not be reimbursed, but this is why we budget the way we do and we have the funds available to take care of emergencies like this.”
Bredehoeft said the community he serves was impressive in the effort to get things close to normal.
“What I felt like I saw 24 hours later was all of the community coming together to do their best to address the situation they were in,” Bredehoeft said. “Whether it was having birthday parties in their front yard, taking care of debris in their own yard, getting it out to the curb, whether it’s us still clearing streets trying to find hangers in the trees around the city, Evergy getting power, everyone working together to do the best they can.”
An effort still bringing people back together.
“We’re to the point where a bad day is a good story, and we can say, "Well, how long was your electricity out?" I find myself and so do other people talking with the checkout people at Hen House or something,” Brown said.
Johnson County Emergency Management is aware of an estimated $2.2 million in public expenses or damages related to the storm in the county.
