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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 15,
2007
No. 07-196
POWER OUTAGES AT 64,000; MORE THAN A FOOT OF SNOW IN PARTS OF KANSAS
More than 64,000 customers in Kansas remain without power (Westar at
approximately 26,000, Kansas Rural Electric Cooperatives at 38,000). Snowfall
in Kansas overnight is expected to slow power restoration, especially
to areas hardest hit. Snowfall ranged from more than a foot in Northwest
Kansas (Hays has 13.5 inches) to 10 to 12 inches in a pathway from Dodge
City to Russell. Northeast Kansas has an inch to six inches with the largest
snowfall in the western part of the region. Portions of south central
Kansas received three to six inches of snow. Parts of southeast Kansas
received less than an inch.
Road conditions are as follows:
Road conditions are mostly snow packed and icy throughout the state,
however, for the most up-to-date conditions travelers may call 5-1-1 from
anywhere in Kansas – or 1-866-511-KDOT (5368) from anywhere in the
U.S. This line has up-to-date, route-specific road conditions, construction
detours and travel weather information for any Interstate, U.S. and Kansas
state highways, including Kansas Turnpike routes. Travelers also can get
road condition information by visiting http://511.ksdot.org.
Downed power lines cause significant dangers
Power companies caution Kansas emergency workers and residents to be
extremely careful not to come in contact with downed power lines. Two
of three individuals who have done so have been taken to a hospital for
treatment as a result.
Kansas National Guard finds five individuals needing medical attention
The Kansas National Guard found five individuals in homes in Cherokee
County needing medical attention as they went door to door checking on
residents Friday. Members of the 891st Engineering Battalion were assisting
local authorities to see if people in homes without power were in need
when they discovered these five during their search.
Many shelters in use
Approximately 1,800 Kansans took shelter overnight Friday into Saturday
at shelters provided by the American Red Cross and other community organizations
around the state. The Kansas National Guard has also opened additional
shelters in its armories in Clay Center, Marysville, Manhattan, Russell
and Sabetha.
A list of shelters is available at the end of the news release; however,
Kansans should try to contact the shelter before going there to see if
it is still open because this information is changing frequently.*
FEMA provides help; generators individuals buy are not reimbursable
FEMA’s generators and the Kansas National Guard’s generators
are only available to critical needs facilities such as hospitals, shelters,
nursing homes, and water and sewer systems. The state does not have the
resources to deliver generators to individuals.
Individuals needing a generator must contact retail outlets to purchase
one or should seek shelter at a local shelter. FEMA reimburses for generators
only when Individual Assistance has been approved, and only in cases of
documented medical need. This means a pre-existing documented medical
condition that requires a person to have a medical apparatus that requires
a generator to continue the machine’s use during power outages.
At this time, the state has not received approval for assistance to individuals
affected by this storm; however, as preliminary damage assessments are
compiled, it is possible this will change.
FEMA has provided Kansas with more than 900 cots and three semi truck
loads of bottled water to support shelters as needed. In addition, the
state has received 60 generators from FEMA to go to critical needs facilities
such as hospitals, nursing homes, shelters and community water/sewer systems.
The Kansas National Guard is delivering its own generators as well as
the FEMA generators to many critical needs locations around the state.
Recent Kansas National Guard missions include:
- Opening of Kansas National Guard Armories for shelters in Clay Center,
Marysville, Manhattan, Russell and Sabetha.
- Delivery of a 125kW FEMA generator to Red Bud Assisted Living in Onaga,
Pottawatomie County – 137th Transportation Company
- Providing supply tractor and personnel to pull FEMA water trailer
(bottled water) to Russell, Lincoln, and Ellsworth County to shelters
– 190th Air Refueling Wing
- Preparing for debris clearing from roadways in Shawnee County- 891st
Engineering Battalion
- Debris clearing from roadways in southeast Kansas - 891st Engineering
Battalion and 778th Transportation Company
- Delivery of a 11.5kW FEMA generator to lift pumps for sewer systems
in Whiting in Jackson County – 137th Transportation Company
- Delivery of 11.5kW FEMA generator to warming station in Eskridge,
Wabaunsee County - 137th Transportation Company
- Delivery of a 35kW generator to River Chase Trailer Court Water Well
– Manhattan, Riley County - 137th Transportation Company
- Delivery of 68kW FEMA generator to Waste Water plant in Oskaloosa,
Jefferson County - 137th Transportation Company
- Delivery of 140kW FEMA generator to Fairfield Junior/Senior High –
Langdon, Reno County - 137th Transportation Company
- Pick up and deliver FEMA water to Kensley, Edwards County – 184th
Intelligence Wing
- Delivery of a 65kW FEMA generator to a water pump in White Cloud,
Doniphan County – 137th Transportation Company
- Delivery of a 20kW FEMA generator to communications tower in Wabaunsee
County – 137th Transportation Company
- Delivery of a 35kW FEMA generator to lift station to Riley, Riley
County – 137th Transportation Company
- Delivery of a 20kW FEMA generator to water plant in Valley Falls,
Jefferson County – 137th Transportation Company
- Delivery of a 125kW FEMA generator to Central School Gymnasium in
Columbus, Cherokee County – 137th Transportation Company
- Delivery of a 125kW FEMA generator to a water system in Lyons, Rice
County – 137th Transportation Company
- Delivery of a 50kW FEMA generator to a sewer lift station in McFarland,
Wabaunsee County – 137th Transportation Company
- Delivery of a 140kW generator to Doniphan West High School in Highland,
Doniphan County – 137th Transportation Company
- Delivery of a 35kW FEMA generator for shelter in Onaga, Pottawatomie
County
- Delivery of a 35kW FEMA generator to the town of Preston in Pratt
County to provide power for two water tower pumps – 137th Transportation
Company
- Inventory Management of FEMA cots and generators – 190th Air
Refueling Wing
- Transportation of 100 FEMA cots from a staging area at Forbes Field,
Topeka to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department in Holton to
be used in a community shelter — 190th Air Refueling Wing
- Transportation of 100 FEMA cots to shelter in Highland, Doniphan County
– 190th Air Refueling Wing
- Forty FEMA cots are being transported from Topeka to the Community
Center in Denison in Jackson County — 190th Air Refueling Wing
- Transportation of 200 FEMA cots to three shelters in Reno Co. –
190th Air Refueling Wing
- Delivery of a 30kW generator to Rural Water District #2 in Saline
County — 137th Transportation Company
- 140kW and 175kW generators are being transported to the Onaga Hospital,
Pottawatomie County — 137th Transportation Company
- Delivery of a 20kW generator for a well water pump and a 20kW generator
to a rural water district in Talmage, Dickinson County — 137th
Transportation Company
- Delivery of a 60kW generator to a health clinic in Columbus to handle
overflow from hospital — 137th Transportation Company
- Transportation of 5kW generator to the city of Wells, Cloud County
— 2nd Battalion, 130th Field Artillery
- Delivery of 60kW generator to a water pump station in Greensburg,
Kiowa County — 137th Transportation Company
- Delivery of 75kW generator to Valley Healthcare Nursing Home and a
75kW generator to HUD housing for special needs population, Valley Falls,
Jefferson County — 137th Transportation Company
- Delivery of a 14kW FEMA generator to waste water treatment plant in
Manhattan, Riley County – 137th Transportation Company
- Delivery of 8kW generator to a shelter in Effingham, Atchison County
— 137th Transportation Company
Previous National Guard missions:
Security/debris clearing
- The 891st Engineering Battalion, headquartered in Iola, sent Guardsmen
and vehicles to Cherokee County to assist local authorities with security
needs. The 891st is also conducting health and welfare checks in the
Baxter Springs area in Cherokee County.
- The 891st is clearing debris from roadways in Cherokee County. The
battalion has been working for two days in Labette County to clear debris
from highways.
- The 190th Air Refueling Wing in Topeka is clearing debris from the
roadways in Holton.
Generators/cots
- The 891st Engineering Battalion provided a 5 kW generator to the town
of Scammon in Cherokee County and 60 cots to the Central School shelter
in Columbus, also in Cherokee County.
- The 190th ARW delivered one of its own 100 kW generators to the Fulton
Family Health Clinic in Holton which is serving as a shelter. The wing
delivered 50 cots to shelters in the Holton community and also supplied
a heat cart and 10 four-foot light sections to Abilene for shelter.
- The 2nd Battalion, 137th Infantry transported Salvation Army 100 cots
from Kansas City, Mo., to the Westmoreland Fire Department in Pottawatomie
County.
- The 2nd Battalion, 130th Field Artillery provided a 10 Kw generator
to a shelter in Morrill in Brown County. The 169th Corps Support Sustainment
Battalion supplied cots and blankets for a shelter and a 100 kW generator
to the Onaga Community Hospital in Pottawatomie County.
- The 137th Transportation Company out of Olathe and Topeka transported
FEMA generators to a shelter in Turon at 501 E. Price, a shelter in
Arlington at 116 E. Main Street, a water supply at a mobile home park
in Coldwater at 408 N. Central, a water supply for a mobile home park
in Manhattan at 6215 Tuttle Creek Blvd, a relief center (shelter) in
Oskaloosa at Living Wellness Church, 13960 K92 Hwy, and to a city water
supply in Hiawatha and a water treatment system in Muscotah. In addition,
a FEMA generator was taken to Ellsworth County to the Rural Water District
at Post Rock, and a FEMA generator was transported to Ottawa County’s
Rural Water District # 2 water plant.
- The 169th Corps Support Sustainment Battalion provided command and
control for the delivery of the FEMA generators.
- The 184th Intelligence Wing in Wichita supplied generators to several
locations including two nursing homes without power in Seneca in Nemaha
County: Crestview Manor Nursing Home and one to Life Care Center of
Seneca. These two generators were later transported to an Assisted Living
Center at 913 Dakota in Sabetha, and to the Goff Community Center in
Goff, Kan.
- The 184th transported two generators in southeast Kansas to reestablish
power to sewer and water treatment systems. One generator was set up
in Chetopa to restore power to the sewer lift station. Another generator
was set up in Baxter Springs in Cherokee County at the Rural
- Water District # 3 to restore power to the water treatment plant.
*Open Shelters (As Reported to State Emergency Operations Center):
- Atchison County: First Baptist Church, Atchison; Effingham Union Church,
Atchison; Lancaster City Hall, Lancaster
- Barton County: Life-Giving Center, 2100 Broadway in Great Bend; Claflin
Fire Department, 309 W Front Street
- Brown County: Everest Community Center, Everest; Horton City Hall,
Horton; Kickapoo Entertainment Center, Horton; Morrill Community Building,
Morrill
- Cherokee County: Baxter Springs Community Center; Central Junior High
School, Columbus; Galena Community Center, Galena; Friends Church, Riverton
- Clay County: Kansas National Guard armory, Clay Center
- Dickinson County: Herington Community Building, Herington; Sterl Hall,
619 N Rogers, Abilene
- Doniphan County: Highland City Hall, Highland; Troy Community Building,
Troy; Edwards County: Edwards County Health Department, Kinsley; Ellsworth
County: Methodist Church, Wilson
- Geary County: City Building, Milford; Spin City Skating Center, 915
S Washington (warming site only)
- Jackson County: Senior Citizens Center, Holton; Omega Family Clinic,
Holton; Prairie Band Pottawatomie Casino Hotel
- Jefferson County: Meridan Fire Station; Oskaloosa Eagles Lodge; McLouth
Fire Station; Living Water Church, Oskaloosa; Ozawkie City Hall; Valley
Falls Fire Station; St. Matthews Lutheran Church, Nortonville; Winchester
Community Building, Winchester; Labette County: Senior Citizens Center,
Chetopa
- Leavenworth County: Fire Station # 1, Leavenworth; Leavenworth County
Community Center
- Lincoln County: Lincoln High School, Lincoln
- Lyon County: Flint Hills Church, Emporia
- Marion County: Lincolnville Community Building, Lincolnville
- Marshall County: St. Gregory’s School, Marysville; Blue Valley
Nursing Home, Blue Rapids
- McPherson County:McPherson American Red Cross 1023 S. Main, McPherson;
Soderstrom Elementary School, 227 N. Washington, Lindsborg; Trinity
Lutheran Church, 119 N Elm, McPherson
- Morris County: Council Grove County Courthouse
- Nemaha County: Seneca Community Building; East Ridge Care Home, Centralia;
American Legion, Wetmore; Sabetha City Hall
- Pawnee County: Larned Community Center, Larned
- Pottawatomie County: SRS Office, Onaga (Warming only); Onaga Senior
Center; Olsburg Fire Department (Warming only); American Legion, Olsburg;
Westmoreland Care Home; Wamego Senior Center (Warming only)
- Pratt County: Pratt County to the Cannonball Trail Red Cross at 114
N. Main, Pratt
- Reno County: Trinity United Methodist Church, Hutchinson; Horizons
Mental Health Center – Special Needs; Turon Community Building,
Turon; Salvation Army, 700 N Walnut, Hutchinson (Warming site only)
- Rice County: Celebration Center, Lyons
- Riley County: First United Methodist Church, Manhattan; Pottorf Hall
at CICO Park, Manhattan; Fairfield Junior/Senior High School, Langdon;
Randolph City Hall – (warming site only) ; Blue Valley High School
– (warming site only); Riley County High School – (warming
site only); KSU Student Union, Manhattan – (warming site only)
- Saline County: Webster Conference Center, I-70 and Ohio, Salina
- Shawnee County: Kansas Expocentre, 17th and Topeka Boulevard, Topeka
- Stafford County: First Christian Church, Stafford; IOOF Building,
Stafford ; St. John
- Wabaunsee County: County Courthouse, Alma; Alta Vista; Eskridge
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