Severe thunderstorms this past week caused more than $250,000 in damage to power poles, lines and other city infrastructure, city manager Warren Porter said Wednesday.
Porter said the storm probably caused millions more in personal property losses ? which includes damages to homes, campers and other items. Winfield was impacted most by a storm June 3 that brought winds up to 112 miles per hour through the area.
That storm arrived and departed quickly but left a mark. The city estimates clean up costs at $160,000 so far.
“It’s amazing that 10 minutes of bad weather ended up causing millions of dollars in damage to the community,” Porter said. “But it happens.”
Fortunately, he said, damage to the city’s electric distribution system was limited mostly to down lines. Previous storms ? including an ice storm earlier this decade ? claimed more power poles, which take longer to repair.
The city remains in emergency mode at the moment with crews only working on storm damage repair. Other issues are on the backburner unless there is a true emergency that requires immediate attention, Porter said.
Brian Stone, the county’s emergency management director, met Wednesday with officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Kansas Department of Emergency Management. Those two organizations are compiling monetary loss figures that will help decide if Cowley County is included in a federal emergency aid declaration.
Stone expected to have a dollar estimate for damage to public entities ? which pertains mainly to losses incurred by local governments ? later Wednesday.
If Cowley County qualifies for disaster aid it would make the third time in two years an emergency declaration has been made.
Stone could not provide a dollar figure for damage countywide because, he said, most residents will deal directly with their insurance provider.
“But the dollar amount for damage for individuals will be rather high,” he said. “I can tell you that.”
