WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Thousands of residents in south central Kansas were without power after winds that reached nearly 90 mph downed trees and damaged buildings overnight and early Friday.
No fatalities were reported but six people were injured, emergency management officials said. Several buildings were damaged in Newton and the Jabara Airport in Wichita was closed Friday morning because of storm debris on the airfield.
Power outages were reported throughout the region. Westar Energy said up to 40,000 customers remained without power about 9:30 a.m. Friday, with about 28,000 of those in Sedgwick County; 2,100 in Reno County; 8,100 in Harvey County and 1,600 in Butler County. School was canceled Friday in Wichita and Maize because of the power outages.
No tornadoes were confirmed in Sedgwick County, but winds reached up to 89 mph and hail as large as golf balls was spotted, said Jaclyn Ritzman, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Wichita.
Three people were injured when mobile homes were destroyed by the winds near Douglass and El Dorado, Butler County Emergency Management director Jim Schmidt said. Two people were taken to Wesley Medical Center in Wichita but the extent of their injuries was not known. Three more people were taken to Wesley Medical Center after being injured outside of Whitewater, Harvey County Emergency Management director Lon Buller said.
Winds of more than 80 mph left several buildings damaged in Newton in Harvey County. Videos from local news outlets show the roof blown off of the Newton Public Library and severe damage to a former Alco store that was being used as a warehouse. Several other buildings in the town suffered structural damage.
Todd Strain, Reno County emergency management coordinator, said trees and power poles were down across the county. He said a section of Kansas Highway 96 and some county roads were closed because of downed power lines.
“The best news is that nobody was hurt,” he said.
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