Thousands remain without power after severe storms hit Kansas

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – Severe storms left thousands of Kansas residents without electricity for more than 24 hours as crews work to restore power.

Topeka resident John Braun said his neighborhood has been without power for more than a day.

“It just went out, and you know, of course, we’ve got no air conditioning, and it’s humid, you know. Three sheets on the bed so you don’t sweat through the mattress. You know, couldn’t run a fan,” Braun said.

Braun said the area from 29th to 21st streets has no power.

Gina Penzig with Evergy said crews from Kansas and Missouri are working to restore service.

“We had our local crews going to work as soon as they could safely do so to begin to restore power,” Penzig said.

Evergy had 25,000 customers without power about 36 hours ago and has restored service to 90% of those customers, Penzig said.

“We expect to have everybody back on late this evening, so about a day and a half into this storm getting everything done,” Penzig said.

Braun said residents are trying to stay positive while waiting for power to return.

“We had a great time picking up; it was fun, a lot of fun, but around 2 o’clock, everybody is worn out about 8 hours of tree cutting. Just piling and stacking and then you have three or four beers of that, and you’re tired,” Braun said.

About 1,800 customers remain without power in Shawnee County and 500 in Riley County. Evergy expects power to be restored by late tonight.

About 8,200 customers in the Salina area remain without power, and it may take until Thursday night for electricity to be restored, according to Evergy.

Evergy’s power outage can be found here.