$1M spent on KCK storm repairs; volunteers now race against winter

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — KSHB 41 reporter Rachel Henderson covers neighborhoods in Wyandotte and Leavenworth counties. Share your story idea with Rachel.

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Months after the Aug. 18 and 19 storm tore through Kansas City, Kansas, families are still displaced.

More than 100 long-term cases remain open, and a group of volunteers is scrambling to finish repairs before winter sets in, with resources that continue to thin out.

A long-term recovery effort is being led by the Kansas Department of Emergency Management's Long Term Recovery Group with support from Greater Plains United Methodist volunteers.

They are accessible through the Storm Recovery Assistance line at 785-207-1558.

A local developer, CJR Builders and IMR Homes, has coordinated repairs for more than 250 homes across KCK, including on Kimball Avenue. Volunteer crews have spent nearly $1 million on recovery work so far.

Carlos Pineda, owner of Geometric Roofing and Construction, LLC — which he has run for 10 years — first connected with the recovery effort through the McNewton’s Community Outreach Center, where he went looking for a place to volunteer.

John Batten/KSHB 41

He has been working alongside Justice for Wyandotte and CJR ever since. When he arrived, the scale of what he found was eye opening.

"It's pretty extensive, it's kind of surprising the amount of damage that happened in such a short time,” Pineda said.

He said a major part of the problem is that many residents have no financial safety net to fall back on.

"The thing that's really been kind of discouraging is seeing that there's not help for people,” Pineda said. “We just had to step in and try to help people because there's a lot of people who don't have insurance coverage or can't afford their deductibles."

At one Kimball Avenue home, Pineda's crew repaired the damage for less than half of what they would normally charge. He described what they found when they got there.

"Some of the siding has fallen off the house, so that allows water to come in. Also, we have some broken windows. On the back side of the home, we have a whole flat roof that doesn't have anything and there's water coming in,” Pineda said.

John Batten/KSHB 41

He said the urgency of getting those repairs done before winter is about more than property, it is about protecting people's health.

"Snow will seep into the house, and then once it gets into the house then we have mold issues. And that's kind of why we've been prioritizing trying to get elderly people and people with young children at the top of the list to get help because, you know, that can be dangerous healthwise,” Pineda said.

He said the need extends well beyond labor.

"There's just a need for financing or even materials,” Pineda said. “Things that people could help with."

He added that economic pressures are leaving many homeowners with nowhere to turn.

"There's just people that don't have the means,” Pineda said. “Everything's expensive right now, so it's very hard for people to be able to pay for these things. Whenever people can help, it's wonderful. I think it's a blessing."

Tamara Arredondo, director of operations and engagement at Eastside Opportunity Ventures, handles logistics for the recovery effort.

She said the community's response in the immediate aftermath of the storm was overwhelming, but sustaining that momentum has proven difficult.

"So many people stepped up immediately,” Arredondo said. “The day after, the morning after, you have so many individuals, so many organizations, so many people from various pieces showing up and saying, 'What can we do?'"

She said the struggle comes with multiple groups utilizing a lot of their resources.

"I think the challenging part of that is just everybody is stretched,” Arredondo said.

John Batten/KSHB 41

She said the scope of the damage has pushed well beyond what existing systems were built to handle.

About 100 homes required electrical work before power could be restored — work that fell outside the normal responsibilities of relief organizations and the utility, but that volunteers stepped in to do anyway.

"That is not something that is on those job descriptions or in the purview of those groups, but they were positioned well and stepped in for the community, and the other side of that is we've seen a gap in being able to really address the extent of the needs with our local systems,” Arredondo said.

For many of the residents still waiting for help, the situation has become a compounding crisis. Some remain displaced from their homes.

Others are uninsured or underinsured, and in some cases, insurance claims have been denied or payouts have fallen short.

"Frankly, it's just not enough, and I think that's a really sad reality for so many people that have just had their homes destroyed, and are now looking at the incredible challenge of how to repair that and make sure that the homes are viable and healthy to stay in,” Arredondo said.

Pineda said the pattern of fading public attention after disasters is one of the biggest obstacles to getting people the help they need.

"Once it's passed, people kind of just get over it, but it's a problem that's continued, and there's still a lot of people that need help,” Pineda said.

Arredondo said getting the wider Kansas City metro — and the country — to understand the scale of what happened in KCK has been an ongoing fight.

"It has been a huge challenge to keep people understanding the size of the need here, and we're still combating the fact that people across the metro don't understand what happened here, let alone people outside regionally or nationally,” Arredondo said.

She said it is important for the issue to gain momentum.

"It's hard to keep that attention long term for folks, especially when there's so many other things that are happening within our communities, and I think that's what we're trying to do is keep that front of mind as much as possible,” Arredondo said.

Looking ahead, she said the storm should prompt a larger conversation about how KCK prepares for future disasters — including improvements to local emergency management and helplines like 311.

"Whether that's from our local government, our local disaster relief setup and preparedness, what are those things we can look at for the future so that this crisis doesn't exist in the same way moving forward, and hopefully in a much lesser way moving forward,” Arredondo said.

She urged the community to support the recovery in whatever way it can, including by patronizing businesses in Quindaro and northeast KCK that also sustained storm damage.

"Come to the businesses that are in Quindaro and northeast KCK. A lot of the businesses sustained damages and are working through their own repairs, and I think being able to show up in multiple ways for the community is a way to allow that recovery to continually happen,” Arredondo said.

Those looking to help can donate to or volunteer with the following organizations currently conducting home assessments and repairs: Justice for Wyandotte, Build WyCo and Habitat for Humanity.

Skilled labor remains a significant need, with CJR Builders and IMR Homes coordinating volunteer work crews.

There is also an ongoing GoFundMe for Gilbert Kirk, a man who lost the entire roof of his home in the storm.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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