14 August 2023
TOPEKA (KSNT) – The City of Topeka has completed its clean-up operation from the July 14 storm.
The stormfront consisting of 70 mph winds blew across much of northeast Kansas on Friday, July 14, bringing with it hail and flash floods in some areas. Evergy reported nearly 3,000 outages left more than 130,000 of its customers in a massive blackout.
City crews worked for four weeks cleaning up debris. An estimated 1,600 miles of roadway were covered during the operation, according to a press release from the City of Topeka. More than 500 service requests were made to the city’s call center related to storm debris cleanup.
As of July 28, the City of Topeka had picked up almost 30,000 cubic yards of debris. For comparison, the Empire State Building used 62,000 cubic yards of concrete in its construction, according to buildings.com.
“The city would like to thank residents for the gratitude and patience they showed over the last month,” the press release said. “City leaders are exceptionally proud of the crews and staff who worked tirelessly to make these efforts possible.”