Thousands still waiting for power after weekend storms
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — After about 140,000 customers were left in the dark this weekend in the aftermath of storms and straight-line winds, Evergy says it’s restored power to all but about 20,000 as of Monday morning.
Evergy says there are still 1,515 active outages impacting 21,005 customers as of 11:30a.m. Its crews are working with about 900 other utility workers who came from neighboring areas on Sunday and Monday, but even with the extra help, some may still be waiting on the lights to come back on until Wednesday.
Winds that reached speeds between 70 and 80 miles per hour tore through the Kansas City area late Saturday night into Sunday morning, leaving significant damage to homes, trees, poles and power lines.
In addition to Evergy, Independence Power and Light had nearly 7,000 outages, which is now down to 1,141. The Kansas City Board of Public Utilities had just over 8,000 at the peak of this event, now down to about 200.
If you see a downed line, Evergy says to assume it is energized, stay 35 feet away, and report what you see online.
If you’re still without power, keep up with latest outage numbers on Evergy’s map, and avoid opening refrigerators and freezers to keep food cold as long as possible.
Members of the public are urged to exercise caution and patience as utility crews work to restore power to all affected areas.