DREXEL, Mo. – Powerful storms knocked out power and dumped about four feet of water inside a grocery store in southwestern Cass County late Monday night.
There were no immediate reports of any injuries, though damage in Drexel is considered extensive, with roofs off buildings, downed trees and power lines.
The Drexel Fire Department says the worst of the storms hit just after 11 p.m. Monday and lasted about 30 minutes.
The VFW Hall on Main Street took a serious hit. Most of the tin roof was ripped off by the storm. Pieces of it were found blocks away. The inside of building, which served as a gathering place for decades, is full of water and pieces of the ceiling.
Amanda Gregar huddled in a basement closet with her three-year-old daughter. The only damage on her property was some downed trees.
"Sitting in the closet the (sound) of the wind rushing and the branches splitting. It's a sound you don't forget. It's stuck in your head," said Gregar.
Eric Parrott was at work when the storm hit but his wife and daughter took shelter in the basement. And luckily they did. A tree came crashing down onto the roof. Parrott's daughter's room is full of debris.
"Storms normally miss us. Finally it was or turn," said Parrott.
NBC Action Weather Meteorologist Brett Anthony says a bow echo swept across the region, producing strong thunderstorms, but said based on the data in the Weather Center and the damage video, it was likely not a tornado that hit the small rural town, which sits on the Kansas-Missouri border about 63 miles south of Kansas City.
Drexel Fire Chief Bill Harper says at one point Tuesday morning, all roads leading in and out of the town were blocked by high water, and though some points remain flooded, the roads were cleared by mid-morning.
The Red Cross set up a center for Drexel residents at 18 Highway and Fourth Street. Food, water and shelter are available to those who need it.
The entire town lost power in the storm but a Kansas City Power & Light spokesperson said he hoped to have it restored Tuesday evening. The Drexel Police Chief said power could be out until Thursday or later.
The town lost water late morning. Crews quickly located two generators to attach to the town's water plant and the town's reservoir.
Drexel Mayor Kenneth Reece said his town will need financial support from the Federal government but said he's confident his residents will pull through. He said they got through the ice storm of 1993 and they'll do it again.
"(It's) said, I hate to see it, we're not a rich community but we'll get er done," said Mayor Reece.
KCP&L experienced about 36,000 outages at the peak of Monday night’s storms and still had about 18,000 people without electricity in the Kansas City metropolitan area.
