Power has been restored to most Heartland Rural Electric Cooperative customers in and around Columbus and Oswego, Kansas, after severe storms on Sunday night.
The Columbus substation with Rural Electric Cooperative was hit the hardest, causing large power outages. —- Roughly 1,000 people were without power after Sunday night’s storm.
Doug Graham with Heartland REC said 30 power lines along the U.S. Highway 160 was damaged due to strong winds and broken tree limbs.
Electricians worked from Sunday night into Monday afternoon to restore power.
He said a storm like this reminds him why electric co-ops exist.
“We serve people who live out in the country,” Graham said. “Some people might say out in the middle of nowhere. And it takes a lot of time and effort to restore power to these people. But we believe they are worthy of having power and are worthy of having good service.”
The National Weather Service confirmed a tornado touched down in Columbus on Sunday, but further surveying confirmed it was straight line winds that caused the severe damage.
Carol Mattox lives alone outside of Columbus. The fencing surrounding her pool was nearly flattened, a large tree in front of her house was uprooted and her mailbox was sideways from its post in the ground. She was without power overnight on Sunday and into Monday morning.
“When I don't have electricity, I don't have any water. Now that's kind of a problem,” added Mattox.
Just down the road from Mattox’s home were three grain silos. One sustained significant damage, causing the debris to scatter in the field nearby.
Katy and Adam Wells live in a neighborhood in Columbus with their two kids. The roof of their house sustained significant damage — their chimney was completely ripped out of its place on the roof. Limbs were broken off of the tree in front of their house.
They didn’t lose power throughout the storm, unlike many residents surrounding them. Adam said he was grateful it wasn’t more serious.
“I mean, once everything was done, when we came outside and looked, we were in awe of what all took place,” Adam said.
No injuries or deaths have been reported.
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