Following is a statement from Saline County concerning its declaring a state of emergency after Wednesday's destructive wind storm.
The County Commission has verbally declared a state of emergency. It is expected to be ratified at Tuesday's regular commission meeting.
Much of the County Remains without Power
Last night's historic windstorm left much of the State of Kansas without power and Saline County is no exception. Thankfully, no fatalities due to the storm have been reported in Saline County.
Evergy experienced the largest outage in its history. As of this morning, 18,000 residences in the county were still without power, in addition to many businesses. Residents should expect multi-day outages in the area. The public's patience and understanding are requested as crews work around the clock to bring the power back on. Power is being restored on a priority basis with a focus on medical facilities and critical infrastructure.
Sheltering, Medical Charging Stations, Meals Available
A shelter has been established at Webster Conference Center, 2601 N. Ohio. Webster offers the ability to charge medical devices and other electrical communication devices and is handicap accessible. All are welcome tonight for free drive-thru-style meals from 4 to 7 p.m. even if you do not require sheltering.
The shelter will close for check-ins at 10 p.m. If you know you will need sheltering but will not be able to check-in until after 10 p.m. please call Saline County Emergency Management at 785.826.6511 to make arrangements. It will re-open for check-in at 8 a.m. tomorrow morning.
Four-Way Stops
There are still many intersections without power. Many temporary stop signs were lost in the storm, so there may not be a sign facing all directions.
Please treat these intersections like four-way stops.
●First to Arrive, First to Go
●Yield to the Person on the Right
●Straight before Turns
●Right then Left
Reserve 911 calls for emergencies only
Report power outages and downed powerlines to your power companies.
-Evergy-
Report outrages online at https://www.evergy.com/outages/report-an-outage.
or call 1-800-383-1183.
- DSO -
Call:1-800-376-3533
Thank You
Thank you to all the linemen, firefighters, law enforcement officers, and City and County public servants who are putting in the work to keep our community functioning. Thank you to all the citizens of the City of Salina and Saline County who are banding together to take care of each other and clean up after this historic windstorm.
You make this community a great place to live and work. Please stay tuned for more information throughout the day.