KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Kansas City, Kansas, businesses were impacted by Monday evening's storm.
At Minnesota Avenue and 17th Street, small business owners said their parking lots looked like an ocean.
Their lots were covered by flood waters.
“The water reached the door of our business," said Rosa Elena Mendoza, owner of KcSkinny. "It was really, really bad.”
She said she stepped outside to look at the damage caused by the storm.
“There was no passage at all on this street," she said. "It was completely flooded.”
Mendoza also told KSHB 41 reporter Fernanda Silva she watched community members rescue a family whose car got stuck in the flood.
“It was out of our control," she said. "The important thing is that we were okay and that people were safe."
On Tuesday morning, she saw more damage. According to Mendoza, her neighbor's door was broken overnight because of the storm.
Less than eight miles away, another small business also dealt with storm damage.
Velia Chavez owns an insurance and income tax services business. She said she couldn’t open on Tuesday because she had to deal with the aftermath of the storm.
“It was frustrating," Chavez said. "It was sad, because when you're a small business owner, you work really hard to have the few things that you do.
Chavez said she panicked as the water started pouring into her office. She was the only business to flood on her block at South 34th Street and Gibbs Road.
“It was scary because it was coming in pretty fast,” said Chavez. “The water was rushing in through there.”
She said the water quickly spread throughout her business.
“There was not a whole lot I could do because it happened so fast," she said. "On Tuesday, I had to use fans and dehumidifiers to avoid more damage.”
She also moved most of her furniture, and her team is working from home.
“I just want to take preventative measures to avoid further damage,” Chavez said.
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KSHB 41 reporter Fe Silva covers education stories involving K-12. Share your story idea with Fe.
