KSHB 41 reporter Fernanda Silva covers stories in the Northland, including Liberty. She also focuses on issues surrounding immigration. Share your story idea with Fernanda.
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A massive storm system blew into Hillsdale in Miami County, Kansas, Monday night, leaving homes and buildings destroyed, trees ruined and widespread power outages.
Kathy Watts is one of the neighbors dealing with the aftermath of the storm and trying to assess the damage.
"I lost everything," Watts said. "Like I have no home. I have nowhere to go."
She lost a significant amount of property in the storm.
"The roof is gone — the back side of my house, the barn, the horse trailer," Watts said.
Terry Scott also lost a lot of property — his RV was flipped. Another RV in the parking lot landed in a pond. "It just starts going through your mind — everything you’re going to have to do to recover," Scott said. "It’s a gut punch. You know, it’s just a sinking feeling in your stomach."
Property owners in the area know recovery will be a long process.
"Just don’t know what we’re getting into. It’s going to be a big hassle, a problem — we’ll have to deal with it," Russel Davis said.
Despite the devastation, residents are still finding reasons to be thankful.
"The sun’s going to come up. I’m alive. My animals are alive. And that’s — you know — it just starts over," Watts said.
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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