KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A line of severe storms moved through the Kansas City area Tuesday afternoon, and they packed quite a punch.
At the peak of the storm, more than 12,000 electric customers lost power, primarily on the Missouri side.
One of the areas hardest hit was eastern Independence and Raytown.
KSHB 41 News received reports of several trees that fell in Independence during the storm.
One tree on Trail Ridge Road toppled onto a house, breaking through the roof. The family reported the man who lived there was not home when the storm hit, and no one was injured.
About a mile away, still in the northeastern part of Independence, an entire neighborhood was without power for the majority of Tuesday. Highland Avenue had some severe damage along the street.
Don McMillan's house was spared by just a few feet when the storm split a tree in half, sending it crashing along his lawn. He was one of the lucky ones on the block.
"I looked out to see what the weather was doing and that's when it all hit," McMillan said. "Just boom, the tree came down, the wind came up and the rain kept coming down."
McMillan is relieved a destroyed tree is all he has to deal with.
"It didn't hit my car because I parked it on the opposite side that I normally do," McMillan said.
But McMillan's neighbor, Cesar Antonio, wasn't as fortunate. The storm ripped out a massive tree from its roots, crashing onto the roof.
Antonio spoke with KSHB 41 News in Spanish. We've translated his interview.
"We were worried, unfortunately, because the house doesn't have a basement, so we didn't have a shelter," Antonio said. "[The crash] happened very fast, and we didn't know what to do in that moment, but we stayed calm."
Antonio's wife, children and brothers are all safe after the crash. Still, they were shocked when they opened their front door.
"We thought that it was strong enough to completely destroy the house," Antonio said. "We are staying calm because we don't want to worry the children."
Most of the neighbors on Highland Avenue are without power, but they're still standing with each other.
"I'm very thankful," McMillan said. "My wife and I feel blessed that we didn't get hurt and our neighbors are okay."
Tuesday's storm passed over the Truman Sports Complex, several employees telling KSHB 41 News they had to seek shelter inside Kauffman Stadium.
"I heard the sirens, and that was enough," Jenni Anderson said. "You could see the rain like going in a circle out [in the parking lot]."
Neither Kauffman nor Arrowhead suffered any reportable damage; although, almost every cone, guardrail and porta-potty in the parking lot was knocked down.
"This is my eighth day at work here, and what an introduction," Camden Love said. "We were up on the top there on the seventh floor when the first line of wind and rain hit, and you could see it coming across the parking lot."
The city of Independence had public works crews out assessing damage on Tuesday afternoon and evening.
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KSHB 41 reporter Isabella Ledonne covers issues surrounding government accountability and solutions. Share your story with Isabella.