KCK families deal with no power in summer heat after storms; volunteers show support

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — KSHB 41 News reporter Braden Bates covers parts of Jackson County, Missouri, including Lee's Summit. Send Braden a story idea by e-mail.

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Cleanup efforts are still underway in Kansas City, Kansas, after storms this week caused widespread damage and left residents without electricity.

Sherry Owens said the storms brought sounds to her usually quiet KCK corner that she never expected.

"Scary. I just hope, I said the lights don't go off. In less than 30 minutes the lights went off," Owens said as she walked around her home with KSHB 41 reporter Braden Bates.

KSHB 41

Since then, Owens said sunlight has been her family's only source of light.

"Almost two days," she said. "Hot as hell. I just thank God it's not where, remember that index like 100 and something — I thank God it's not like that. I don't know what the hell we would have did," Owens said.

As night falls, she said it makes her even more uncomfortable.

"Sitting in a hot house, dark. It's scary," Owens said.

But support arrived from an unexpected source, Owens said a teacher from a nearby school came to help.

"My granddaughter that graduated this year from Quindaro Elementary School, she said (it) was the PE teacher, brought these snacks here," Owens said while holding up Uncrustables and Cheez-Its

While many residents remain without power Thursday, the community showed up for one another.

Heart to Heart International was among the organizations providing support. Amy Carnahan described what the effort meant to those involved.

"It's really rewarding to be able to give back to the community that supports us so much in this time," Carnahan, a community health worker with the organization said.

KSHB 41

They were handing out kits they made earlier this year — one focused on hygiene and the other was a beat the heat kit.

Carnahan said the response was significant.

"I know there's been hundreds of people here," she said.

Power crews also lined the streets Thursday working to restore electricity to affected residents. BPU said all available crews are working on multi-day power restoration efforts.

RELATED | Thousands still without power in Wyandotte County after Wednesday's early morning storms
RELATED | KCKPS to resume normal operations at most schools Friday; some schools still impacted by storms

While crews worked to restore power to homes around KCK, residents like Owens hoped relief would come sooner.

She said her family has been charging their phones in their cars, and they have been trying to grill the food that they have before it spoils.

Owens said the longer their power is out, the more expensive it will be with additional food costs.

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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