Mark JohnsonTelephone poles are twisted along 76th Street, east of North Oak Trafficway, after a tornado tore through Gladstone during the early morning hours of Friday, May 2. The downed lines led to traffic being detoured through surrounding residential streets that were littered with broken tree limbs and other debris.
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Storms leave damage
Two reported tornadoes find Gladstone, Kansas City North
By Jeffrey M. Salem
At 2 a.m. Friday, May 2, almost five years to the day that tornadoes last swept through Gladstone, Erica Boyd awoke to what sounded like a train outside her home at 804 N.E. 71st St.
She started gathering her five children from various bedrooms when it hit.
“The windows just exploded, and the roof flew off,” she said later that morning in her front yard. “It was just gone.”
Erica and her husband, Steven, and their children weathered the storm in their basement unharmed.
The numbers were not as staggering as the damage done to the Northland on May 4, 2003, but it was easy to tell two tornadoes — confirmed by the National Weather Service Friday afternoon — blew through Gladstone and Kansas City North last week. About 250 houses in Gladstone alone needed repair and more than 20 were totaled — including the Boyds’. Gladstone city officials estimated 15 businesses, mostly along North Oak Trafficway, had damage. Tree branches littered stretches of residential streets, pulling power lines to the ground with them. Some trees were snapped at their trunks from the reported 80-plus mph winds, others were pulled up from their roots and tossed on their sides.
Seventy percent of Gladstone lost power and an estimated 16,000 houses in Kansas City went dark. Power was restored throughout the weekend.
The corridor where much of the wind damage occurred began near Northeast 70th Street and North Oak Trafficway and traveled northeasterly about a mile and a half toward Northeast 76th Street and North Euclid Avenue, according to Gladstone City Manager Kirk Davis. Davis said less than 5 percent of the city was “devastated” by the tornado and the destruction was mostly concentrated in that mile-wide corridor, though damage was reported further north in Kansas City North and tree damage was apparent south in North Kansas City, too. In Kansas City North, the hardest hit area was Missouri Highway 291 between Northeast 109th and 110th streets, according to Kansas City officials. Davis estimated the damage in Gladstone could reach $40 million.
More remarkable was this statistic: No one was killed, and only a handful of residents were reported injured.
“This acted just like the tornado five years ago,” said Gladstone Mayor Mark Revenaugh. “We’re very fortunate there’s been no loss of life.”
Before they were confirmed tornadoes, Gladstone resident Catherine Christensen had already made up her mind about the destructive winds.
“I know it was a tornado,” she said. “It was just totally unbelievable, the sound of it.”
Christensen had her neighbor’s trampoline slam into her house during the storm, and several heavy tree limbs were littered on her roof and yard. Her furnace vent from her roof was relocated to her front yard during the storm. The winds were so fierce at her residence, 701 N.E. 71st St., paint had been stripped from her home’s exterior. Christensen, her husband, Paul, and their son, Eric, were unharmed.
On Friday, city officials were focused on safety and cleanup. A temporary shelter for displaced families was set up at Antioch Bible Baptist Church by the American Red Cross, and multiple public safety agencies were working together to keep the hardest hit areas safe. Several agencies opened brush and yard-waste disposal sites for residents’ convenience.
For the Boyds, they are focusing on the positives of the storm. The entire family — even their two dogs — were alive and well.
“Thankfully, there’s no medical situation we have to deal with,” Steven Boyd said. “But how we’re standing here talking to you today, I really don’t know. We just feel like someone was watching out for us.”
Helpful contacts:
- Gladstone residents will be allowed to drop off any tree and yard debris at the Public Works site at 400 N.E. 76th St. through the end of the month. Bring proof of residency.
- Kansas City residents are asked to report property damage for information-gathering purposes to the 3-1-1 Action Center at 513-1313. That number may also be used to request tree limbs be removed from rights of way.
- Clay County will open its tree debris drop-off locations at the Clay County Highway Department, 16616 N.E. 116th St. in Kearney, and near the Missouri Route W Boat Launch location at Smithville Lake 2 miles east of U.S. Highway 169 at Missouri Route W. Only tree debris will be accepted. The Highway Department location is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday. The Route W location is open daily from 8 a.m. to sunset.
Be prepared for a disaster:
The time to prepare for a disaster is before it happens, says Liberty Fire Chief Gary Birch.
Last week as destructive winds, severe thunderstorms and tornados hit the Northland, many people scrambled to their basements.
The fire department recommends the following items be included in preparing an emergency supply kit.
- First aid kit: adhesive bandages, antacid, antibiotic ointment, antidiarrhea medication, antiseptic, aspirin or other pain reliever, cleaning agent such as alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, soap, germicide, cotton balls, first aid manual, gauze pads and tape, latex gloves, laxative, moist towelettes, needle and safety pins, petroleum jelly, scissors, sunscreen, thermometer, tongue depressors, triangular bandages, tweezers.
- Water: one gallon per person per day. Water should be in tightly sealed, nonbreakable containers. Change water every six months.
- Food: Pack enough food in sealed containers to last each family member at least three days. Include canned and boxed food that requires little preparation. Don’t forget a manual can opener. Include food for infants and those on special diets. Replace food every six months.
- Tools: battery-powered radio, flashlights, spare batteries, re-sealable plastic bags, towels and washcloths, paper plates, cups and eating utensils, toiletries such as toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo and deodorant, heavy-duty trash bags, a change of clothing and extra pair of sturdy shoes and socks for each person, blankets or sleeping bags.
- Personal items: personal identification, birth and marriage certificates, an inventory of household goods, bank account numbers, insurance policies and other important documents, maps, extra car and house keys, prescription medications, eyeglasses and sunscreen.
For more information on preparing or planning for disasters, visit www.preparemetro
kc.org.
Staff writer Jeffrey M. Salem can be reached at 389-6653 or jeffsalem@npgco.com.
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She started gathering her five children from various bedrooms when it hit.
“The windows just exploded, and the roof flew off,” she said later that morning in her front yard. “It was just gone.”
Erica and her husband, Steven, and their children weathered the storm in their basement unharmed.
The numbers were not as staggering as the damage done to the Northland on May 4, 2003, but it was easy to tell two tornadoes — confirmed by the National Weather Service Friday afternoon — blew through Gladstone and Kansas City North last week. About 250 houses in Gladstone alone needed repair and more than 20 were totaled — including the Boyds’. Gladstone city officials estimated 15 businesses, mostly along North Oak Trafficway, had damage. Tree branches littered stretches of residential streets, pulling power lines to the ground with them. Some trees were snapped at their trunks from the reported 80-plus mph winds, others were pulled up from their roots and tossed on their sides.
Seventy percent of Gladstone lost power and an estimated 16,000 houses in Kansas City went dark. Power was restored throughout the weekend.
The corridor where much of the wind damage occurred began near Northeast 70th Street and North Oak Trafficway and traveled northeasterly about a mile and a half toward Northeast 76th Street and North Euclid Avenue, according to Gladstone City Manager Kirk Davis. Davis said less than 5 percent of the city was “devastated” by the tornado and the destruction was mostly concentrated in that mile-wide corridor, though damage was reported further north in Kansas City North and tree damage was apparent south in North Kansas City, too. In Kansas City North, the hardest hit area was Missouri Highway 291 between Northeast 109th and 110th streets, according to Kansas City officials. Davis estimated the damage in Gladstone could reach $40 million.
More remarkable was this statistic: No one was killed, and only a handful of residents were reported injured.
“This acted just like the tornado five years ago,” said Gladstone Mayor Mark Revenaugh. “We’re very fortunate there’s been no loss of life.”
Before they were confirmed tornadoes, Gladstone resident Catherine Christensen had already made up her mind about the destructive winds.
“I know it was a tornado,” she said. “It was just totally unbelievable, the sound of it.”
Christensen had her neighbor’s trampoline slam into her house during the storm, and several heavy tree limbs were littered on her roof and yard. Her furnace vent from her roof was relocated to her front yard during the storm. The winds were so fierce at her residence, 701 N.E. 71st St., paint had been stripped from her home’s exterior. Christensen, her husband, Paul, and their son, Eric, were unharmed.
On Friday, city officials were focused on safety and cleanup. A temporary shelter for displaced families was set up at Antioch Bible Baptist Church by the American Red Cross, and multiple public safety agencies were working together to keep the hardest hit areas safe. Several agencies opened brush and yard-waste disposal sites for residents’ convenience.
For the Boyds, they are focusing on the positives of the storm. The entire family — even their two dogs — were alive and well.
“Thankfully, there’s no medical situation we have to deal with,” Steven Boyd said. “But how we’re standing here talking to you today, I really don’t know. We just feel like someone was watching out for us.”
Helpful contacts:
- Gladstone residents will be allowed to drop off any tree and yard debris at the Public Works site at 400 N.E. 76th St. through the end of the month. Bring proof of residency.
- Kansas City residents are asked to report property damage for information-gathering purposes to the 3-1-1 Action Center at 513-1313. That number may also be used to request tree limbs be removed from rights of way.
- Clay County will open its tree debris drop-off locations at the Clay County Highway Department, 16616 N.E. 116th St. in Kearney, and near the Missouri Route W Boat Launch location at Smithville Lake 2 miles east of U.S. Highway 169 at Missouri Route W. Only tree debris will be accepted. The Highway Department location is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday. The Route W location is open daily from 8 a.m. to sunset.
Be prepared for a disaster:
The time to prepare for a disaster is before it happens, says Liberty Fire Chief Gary Birch.
Last week as destructive winds, severe thunderstorms and tornados hit the Northland, many people scrambled to their basements.
The fire department recommends the following items be included in preparing an emergency supply kit.
- First aid kit: adhesive bandages, antacid, antibiotic ointment, antidiarrhea medication, antiseptic, aspirin or other pain reliever, cleaning agent such as alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, soap, germicide, cotton balls, first aid manual, gauze pads and tape, latex gloves, laxative, moist towelettes, needle and safety pins, petroleum jelly, scissors, sunscreen, thermometer, tongue depressors, triangular bandages, tweezers.
- Water: one gallon per person per day. Water should be in tightly sealed, nonbreakable containers. Change water every six months.
- Food: Pack enough food in sealed containers to last each family member at least three days. Include canned and boxed food that requires little preparation. Don’t forget a manual can opener. Include food for infants and those on special diets. Replace food every six months.
- Tools: battery-powered radio, flashlights, spare batteries, re-sealable plastic bags, towels and washcloths, paper plates, cups and eating utensils, toiletries such as toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo and deodorant, heavy-duty trash bags, a change of clothing and extra pair of sturdy shoes and socks for each person, blankets or sleeping bags.
- Personal items: personal identification, birth and marriage certificates, an inventory of household goods, bank account numbers, insurance policies and other important documents, maps, extra car and house keys, prescription medications, eyeglasses and sunscreen.
For more information on preparing or planning for disasters, visit www.preparemetro
kc.org.
Staff writer Jeffrey M. Salem can be reached at 389-6653 or jeffsalem@npgco.com.